


Leaving on a Jet Plane

by Eamane



Category: Real Person Fiction, The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit RPF
Genre: Airplanes, Angst, Apple-pie, Arguing, Blow Jobs, Dirty Jokes, Domestic Fluff, Drunk Adam, Drunk Aidan, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional reunion, Fluff, Fluffy text-messages, Flying, Getting Lost, Grumpy Aidan, Grumpy Dean, Hospitalization, Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Aidan, Leaving Home, M/M, Midnight calls, Moretagstocome, Moving In Together, Nerves nerves nerves, Reunion Sex, Romance, Sexual Content, Skyping, Smut, Stupid coffee, Tickles, Vacation, Violence, auditions, emotional goodbyes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-18
Updated: 2015-02-12
Packaged: 2018-02-09 06:38:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 71,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1972665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eamane/pseuds/Eamane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After having to skype with Dean for almost a year, Aidan finally makes the decision to leave his life in Dublin behind in order to live together with Dean in Auckland. Will Aidan be able to handle such a huge decision? Let’s join him on his journey and find out…</p><p> </p><p>  <b>Beta-read by the wonderful Finduilas88 <3</b></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Big Announcement

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Finduilas88](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Finduilas88/gifts).



> Welcome dears to a new story! The plan is to make this a 20-chapter story of Aidan's journey to live with Dean in New Zealand, and all the ups and downs that come with making such a big step. I will update this story while I write it, the plan is to do so twice per week, but bear with me that I may not always be able to reach that goal!
> 
> I hope you'll like this story and join Aidan until the final chapter. Feel free to comment along the way, I love reading them! c: x

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aidan calls Dean with big news.

  

_Dean is calling._

It was 23:46 in Dublin, Ireland, and Aidan was absolutely exhausted. He had been so excited to tell Dean about his plan on skype that evening that he had completely tired himself out thinking of at least a hundred different ways to tell him. So now it was late, Dean was late, and he wasn’t even sure anymore if he would be able to tell him the news in an exciting way anymore.

 

This morning, after months of waging the ups and downs of the idea, Aidan had finally made up his mind and had decided to just do it. They had talked about it, of course. Hours and hours of talking, and every time they were _so_ close to doing it, Aidan had found a reason why he couldn’t. He _always_ found a reason why he couldn’t. If it wasn’t the lack of money then it was his job, his family or his neighbour’s sick dog. It was always something, but now he was out of reasons. And he was happy that he was out of reasons, because now he was going to give up his life in Dublin to build up a new one 11.000 miles away from here. To build up a new life together with Dean, the man he had loved and cherished for almost two years now. He was going to carry out one of the biggest decisions in his entire life. And he loved it.

He and Dean started dating not long after filming for The Hobbit began. They of course met during auditions, where they had much fun discovering their characters, the dwarven brothers Fíli and Kíli. Maybe the fact that the characters they portrayed were brothers, resulting into much shared screen time, was one of the main reasons that Aidan started looking at Dean as more than just a good friend. That he began to _fall for the man_.

And he had. The more days that went by, the more obvious it became for him. The butterflies in his stomach every time that Dean stood particularly close to him. The warmth spreading across his chest every time their hands accidentally or maybe not so accidentally touched. The moment they shared their first kiss he knew that he truly liked this man. Which in time turned into loving the man. More and more with every day that went by.

Of course, though they rarely spoke of it, the day that Aidan had to move back to Ireland came closer and closer with every rising and setting of the sun. The week before he had to leave, they hardly even spoke. He had been spending nearly all his time in Dean’s apartment in Auckland once filming was over, only moving back to his own rented one to give it a clean or to pick up some mail. The day that Dean had to bring him to the airport, not knowing how long it would take before he would see Aidan again, the moment that they gave each other their last hug and shared their final kiss before Aidan really had to go, they cried as if they would lose each other for good. They cried like grown men shouldn’t cry, but neither of them cared. They loved each other, and now they had to leave each other behind and live half the world away from each other, living the dreaded ‘ _long distance relationship_ ,’ and it broke their hearts like nothing had ever broken it before.

 

Skyping was difficult, especially in the beginning. Aidan and Dean had always spent so much time together, both on-set and off-set, that they grew to be almost inseparable. They were used to seeing each other every morning in the make-up trailer, where their chairs where next to each other. They practiced and performed scenes together. They had lunch together, dinner together, eventually even breakfast together. They slept together…

And now Aidan was sitting here in Dublin, and Dean was sitting there in Auckland. Aidan was living in Today. Dean was living in Tomorrow. They just couldn’t get used to the fact that they lived half the world away from each other, even if they wanted to.

But eventually they had to, and they learned to enjoy and cherish their skype-dates instead of dread the fact that they had to use skype to communicate in the first place. They would text each other and Aidan would sometimes send Dean hand-written letters that took so long to arrive in Auckland that by the time it did, he would already have forgotten that he’d written it. 

They spent their days apart, but also together. Because Dean would always be on Aidan’s mind and the same was true the other way around. If Aidan experienced something exciting, Dean would always be the first one to know about it, and if Dean took another one of what he called ‘ _a picture from heaven_ ,’ it was always Aidan who saw it first.

 

Now, a little more than eleven months after their painful goodbyes on the Auckland airport, Aidan was going to go back. And he was going back for good. He didn’t want to think about how much he was going to miss his parents, and his other family and friends. He was afraid that when he did, he would lose his courage and abandon the plan for the one thousandth time. All he could and wanted to think about was that he didn’t want to spend another month without his Dean. How he didn’t want to spend Christmas here without him.

First, he would buy himself a ticket from Dublin to Auckland. That would probably be the most scary part of his plan to move. Then, he would break the contract with his casting agency and give notice to the landlord of his small apartment. He would give one last party to say goodbye to his friends and spend his last week in Ireland at his parent’s place. Then his parents would drive him to the airport to see him off. His mother would probably cry, which would then undoubtedly make him cry. And then he would leave. All alone. But only for the 28 hours his travel would take, because when he would finally be together with Dean, he would never feel alone again. _Ever_.

 

Even though they skyped almost every day, alternating between Dean having to stay up late and Aidan having to stay up late, Aidan couldn’t help the bright smile on his face when Dean’s face popped up onto the screen of his laptop. He waved at him enthusiastically through his webcam, and Dean waved back, showing off his impressive dimples as he smiled. Even though they were eleven thousand miles away from each other, it always felt for the few hours they called that they were actually together.

 

“I should be angry with you, you know,” Aidan said, trying to pull an angry face but failing miserably because of his still huge smile. He was already in bed, covered in blankets to prevent himself from the autumn cold. Dean, however, was wearing a t-shirt. _Show-off_.

“I see, I’m sorry babe. I slept through my alarm, I stayed up a little too late yesterday.”

“That’s not my problem, what _is_ my problem though is that it’s now almost midnight here.”

“I know, I’m sorry, Aid. I really am.”

Dean looked guiltily into his webcam, but his smile quickly came back.

“Why are you smiling so much, did you sniff something?” Dean asked with a wink. Aidan snorted.

“No, though I do recall my orange juice smelling funny this afternoon… Nah I’m kidding. I’ve got something to tell you, and it’s really exciting, Dean.” Aidan practically bounced from excitement.

“Oh yeah?” Dean said, sitting up a little straighter on the couch from which he was skyping.

“Yeah, I’ve made up my mind. You know, about moving. I’m serious, I think this is the right moment. I really do, I’m actually going to do it this time,” Aidan said, his smile growing even wider.

“No way,” Dean said, covering his mouth with both his hands.

“Yes, I’m going to move, I’m tired of Ireland. I’m moving to Auckland, I’m going to live together with you! Isn’t that great?”

“That’s amazing, Aid!” Dean said, laughing and still holding his face with both his hands. “That’s fantastic! Wow, are you serious? Have you really thought this through?”

“Yep, I have and I think this is the right moment to do it. I want to be in Auckland before Christmas so that gives me…” Aidan grabbed his phone from his night-stand to check the date;  “just under two months to settle everything and move.”

“Wow, Aid, I wish I could hug you right now. You have no idea how happy you just made me,” Dean said, his voice slightly cracking.

“I think I do,” Aidan said, sighing deeply to try and calm down a bit from all the excitement; “And I honestly can’t wait to move now that I’ve finally made up my mind!”

“Seriously, babe, I can’t believe this is finally happening,” Dean said, laughing and wiping away what appeared to be a tear. It was difficult to tell from the poor quality of his webcam. “I know this is hard for you but I promise I’ll help you through it. You’re going to love it here, I’ll make sure you’ll love it here.”

“Are you crying?” Aidan said with a smirk, but Dean shook his head.

“Good, because this is supposed to be good news.” Aidan winked, and he blew Dean a kiss. “Now let’s have a normal conversation to calm down a little bit. How was your day, babe?”

“ _God_ ,” Dean said, shaking his head; “Much better now, I can tell you. I was going to hang out with the guys from the Johnsons today, we had agreed on going out today weeks ago, but I got an important job-offer to shoot some pictures for a magazine. It was quite big and I kind-of needed the money, so I had to tell the lads I couldn’t go and they were, let’s try and say it in a decent way, _fucking_ pissed at me.”

“Aw babe, I’m sorry…”

“Nah, I really deserved it. I know work is important and I need to scrape together enough money to pay my rent at the end of the month, but I haven’t seen them for months either and none of us really have a lot of time anyway so… yeah. I’m not even sure if they still went out without me, they’re kind of not answering my texts.”

Aidan pouted. “How did the shoot go, was it good?”

Dean shrugged. “It was alright, I guess. I got paid pretty well but it was just another dull shoot with dull models who only have one pose and one facial expression. It wasn’t worth giving up having a beer with the guys for after all, I kind of regret doing it.”

Dean pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head, but said nothing else.

“I’m sure they’ll get over it soon, you’ve been friends for so long, they won’t abandon you,” Aidan tried to comfort him, and Dean smiled a bit.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Thanks babe.”

“Anytime, love, anytime.”

“So what about you, did you have a good day?”

“I don’t know,” Aidan sighed; “I’d been thinking about moving for so long and when I finally made up my mind this morning, I haven’t been able to think about anything else. And it’s Saturday anyway so I don’t have work, so I just spent some time watching TV and surfing around on the web, counting down the hours until we’d have another one of our skype-dates.”

Dean smiled. Aidan had the urge to poke his dimples, but all he could do was brush his fingers over the part of his screen where Dean’s picture was. He tried to hide his sadness by smiling back at him.

“I’m glad you look forward to our skype-calls so much. I do too.”

“I miss you so much, Deano…” Aidan sighed, and Dean pouted; “I think about you every second of every day. I still know the way you smell, the way your hair feels after a shower, the way it feels so good to touch your skin… and some certain other things that may be inappropriate to say out loud,” Aidan said with a mischievous grin. Dean snorted.

“I miss you too, babe, every second of every day. I can’t wait to hold you in my arms again. When you come here, I’m never going to let you leave again. _Ever_.”

Aidan chuckled. “I won’t ever leave you again, I promise.”

Dean smiled and pressed a kiss on the lens of his webcam. Aidan laughed and returned the gesture.

 

They talked like that for another hour and a half. After the third time that Aidan doze off while Dean was talking, he had to force Aidan to shut down his computer and go to sleep. Aidan reluctantly agreed and said his goodbyes before putting away his laptop and pulling the blankets all the way over his head. Sleeping without Dean would be a little bit less depressing now that he could look forward to moving in with him.

He could now start counting down the days until he could fall asleep in his lover’s arms every single night, cuddled up and pressed closely against each other. They could kiss each other, make love to each other…

They would wake up next to each other every morning, Dean always being the one to make breakfast and coffee since Aidan was an absolute nightmare to get out of bed in the morning. Aidan would then give Dean a kiss, and every time that Dean made him a particularly good coffee, he’d treat him to some passionate morning-sex. Their love-making was always passionate. Beautiful and romantic, but also a little bit rough, and it was always very satisfying for the both of them. Aidan sniggered at the thought of what their first night back together in Auckland would be like. Neither of them had had proper sex for almost a year ( _the kind without the use of a right hand, obviously_ ), and it gave Aidan goose bumps just thinking about the beast that Dean would be the moment he set a foot into his bedroom.

With that vision on his mind, his hand slowly moved down over his belly towards his growing erection. He wrapped his palm around it and began to stroke it up and down, thinking about Dean while small gasps and moans escaped from the back of his throat at the sensation. He thought about Dean’s broad chest, his round butt cheeks and the way he looked so good standing naked in front of him. He thought about the many times and the many ways in which he had given his lover an orgasm, every one of them equally powerful and breath taking. He stroke his stiff erection with increasing speed thinking about all of that, which made it take embarrassingly short for him to reach his peak. He groaned and panted as he spilled his seed over his stomach, whispering his lover’s name as he did.

Not long afterwards he fell into a deep sleep, dreaming about New Zealand. Dreaming about _Dean_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Non story related author's note:
> 
> I would like to use this space to say 'rest in peace' to the people who passed away on the Malaysia Airlines crash yesterday, 17/7/2014, in Ukraine. A big amount of the victims were people from my country, the Netherlands, and I am deeply saddened by what has happened. My heart is with all those who lost their lives in this terrible tragedy and also with their loved ones.
> 
> Love,
> 
> Eá.


	2. Preparing to Leave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam calls, and Aidan prepares to leave.

 

And that was when Aidan’s life became very busy. Instead of skyping daily with Dean, he now only had time twice, sometimes three times per week to call him. He was spending most of his hours planning out his departure, and it was both terrifying and extremely exciting at the same time.

The most difficult part by far was getting his visa. Having worked in New Zealand for two years was a big plus, as was the fact that his Dean lived there, but it was still a hell to get everything arranged. It wasn’t until one week before his plane would take off that he was finally given his visa, which he celebrated by having a nice dinner with his family in the centre of Dublin.

Booking his flight ticket was something he would never forget in his entire life. He booked his flight on November 10th, exactly one month before he would leave on December 10th. He knew that once the ticket was bought, it was actually going to happen. His first flight would be with an Airbus A320 from Aer Lingus. The plane would leave at seven in the morning in Dublin and it would take him to Frankfurt in an hour and forty minutes. Then, he would spend what would probably be two of the most boring hours in his entire life on the airport, before taking his next flight. With an Airbus A380 from Singapore Airlines, _god that’s a big plane_ , he would first take a twelve hour flight to Singapore before changing into a Boeing 777-200 from the same company and taking his final flight to Auckland. It would take him an astonishing 28 hours in total to fly from Dublin to Auckland, but because he did it for Dean, it was worth every agonizing second of it.

So the ticket was now booked, he was given his visa and he had given notice to his landlord. It was his final week in Dublin, and Aidan had moved out of his apartment and was living with his parents in his childhood house again. The waiting finally began. He spent some quality time with his parents. His older brother, who lived in Cork with his wife and their twin boys of three, came over for a few days with his family too. He was having a great time, but without Dean, the days still went by very slowly.

All that Aidan was going to take with him to Auckland was clothes, money, some important paperwork and also some sentimental stuff that he just couldn’t leave behind. The keys to his car, a green 1999 ford focus, he would give to his good friend Kevin a couple of days before he’d leave, knowing that the motoring-fan would take good care of it while he was abroad.

Was it frightening?

Of course it was, it was absolutely _terrifying_ , but Aidan was a grown man and he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life together with Dean. Yes, Dean could have moved to Dublin. Yes, they could have moved to England together, or to the United States for his sake, but where was the fun in that? New Zealand was beautiful, original, wealthy and successful. Dublin is boring, London is crowded and America is big. Neither of them had ever doubted about the place where they were going to live together. It was always going to be New Zealand. It was the place where they met and it would be the place, would it ever come to that stage, where they wed.

 

On another one of Ireland’s rainy afternoons, six days before he was going to leave Ireland, he received a phone call. ‘ _That’s odd_ ,’ Aidan thought. He had been so busy sorting everything out that he hadn’t spoken with any of his friends for weeks, and he wasn’t expecting any of them to try and invite him to go out for a beer another time, not after all of his many refusals. So he lazily stood up from behind his desk and went to pick up his phone from the dining table to check who it was.

_Adam is calling_

Aidan grinned. He sat down on one of the dining chairs and answered the call.

“This is Ai –”

“ _WHY DID YOU NOT TELL ME_ ,” Adam practically screamed from the other side of the line. Aidan moved his phone a few inches away from his ear. He immediately knew what his friend was talking about.

_Shit, that’s number one._

“Oh, yeah, hi mate! Honestly? I’ve been so busy lately, man. I was going to tell you, I really was, but I’ve only spoken to my parents and Dean about it, truthfully. I don’t know why, I guess I’m afraid of the reactions...”

“ _Are you really moving in with Dean?_ ”

“Yes, we’d been talking about it for ages and I decided it’s time to just go for it.”

“ _Wow! That’s amazing news, Aid! Congratulations, man!_ ”

“Thanks, wait… what? You’re okay? You’re not angry about it?”

“ _Why would I be angry about that, Aidan?_ ”

“Well, I won’t be coming back every other week, you know. It’s a long term thing, I don’t know when I’ll be able to come back. It could be months, maybe even years.”

“ _You know I live in London right? I never get to see you anyway._ ”

“Oh yeah, that’s right, of course, yeah…”

“ _When are you leaving?_ ”

Aidan sighed; “Next Wednesday.”

“ _WEDNESDAY? Mate, that’s in six days!_ ”

“I know, I know…”

“ _Have you seriously not told anyone about it yet? Shouldn’t you, I don’t know, hurry the fuck up or something?_ ”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. I was thinking about throwing a goodbye-party to some of my Irish friends or something like that, unless you feel like coming over to join us..?”

“ _I’m sorry man, I’m afraid I can’t afford that right now. But we should skype more often, though. Where have you been all this time?_ ”

“Busy…” Aidan responded guiltily. He heard Adam sighing, but he didn’t sound mad at him.

“ _I understand. Just don’t forget about me when you’re surrounded by the hot surfer-dudes. I’m still your best friend, right?_ ”

Aidan laughed; “Of course you are, Ads, and I truly hope you’ll be able to visit us in New Zealand once or twice. You’re always welcome to come over.”

“ _I hope so too! We’ll figure it out somehow. I have to go now, I’m already going to be late for work… But you need to come online more often! I miss you, Aid, and I’m guessing I’m not the only one of your friends who does._ ”

“I promise, okay? See you later, Ads!”

He hung up his phone and put it in the pocket of his jeans. He walked over to the living-room and let himself fall down onto his couch, letting out a big sigh.

 

So that’s how Aidan ended up in the pub that evening with his best mates: Brian, Hugh and Kevin. They had been his closest friends ever since high school, which was a little over ten years now. Brian was about as old as Aidan, only just turned 31, and Hugh and Kevin were both 32. Hugh was married to a blonde beauty and had a two year old daughter named Coleen. He worked for some big company Aidan couldn’t really remember the name of, but he was doing great and Aidan was happy for him. Kevin spent almost all  of his free time working on his biggest passion: motor vehicles. He was practically married to his BMW motorcycle and whenever he didn’t work in the local garage, he was busy working on his motorcycle in his own one.  Anyway, he was way too busy with that to have any time left for girls. And Brian, well, Brian was Brian. He just did whatever he wanted. He switched from job every few years, alternating between getting fired and simply resigning, and he had just broken up with his long-time girlfriend half a year ago. He was still celebrating his freedom by drinking beer every night and eating whatever he wanted, which had caused him to gain a whopping 50 pounds. He didn’t seem to mind, though, judging by the size of his pint.

His three mates were the biggest reason why Aidan had refused to tell anyone but his parents and Dean about his plan to move. He was terrified of their reactions, he was afraid to be abandoned and forgotten about by his friends. He was afraid they would be angry for not discussing this with them, though he had, plenty of times. However, unlike any of his expectations, they took it really well.

“I can’t believe you’re moving to the other side of the world for Dean, I never knew you were such a romantic, Aidan!” Brian joked, pointing at him with his beer.

“So you’re not angry with me?” Aidan asked insecurely. Kevin shook his head.

“We’re sad of course, but angry? Nah, never. We’ve got skype, and I’m sure you’ll go back to Ireland for the holidays once in a while? You can’t just leave your folks behind like that. I know your mom would be heartbroken.”

Aidan laughed. “That’s the plan, yeah. We want to spend Christmas together every other year, alternating between Dublin and New Zealand. So I should be in Ireland for a few weeks every four years. I know it’s not very often, but it’s something…”

Hugh punched him lovingly in the shoulder; “We’ve got skype, mate, we’ve got the internet. Technology is great nowadays, and I trust you not to forget about us. As long as we’re with you in your heart, you are with us in ours. Right lads?”

Brian and Kevin hummed in agreement, and Aidan smiled in relief.

“Thanks lads, I really appreciate that. The next round’s on me!”

The boys all cheered at that.

 

It was almost four in the morning when Aidan opened the front door of his parent’s house. He quietly entered the small hallway to try not to wake them up. He slowly climbed the stairs to his bedroom, which still looked exactly the same way as how he’d left it a little over ten years ago. He opened the door, removed all of his clothes except for his boxers and crawled under the covers with his laptop. He knew it may not be a very smart idea to go on skype when he was a bit drunk, but he couldn’t resist the urge to check if Dean was online. And he was.

_Dean is calling._

The message appeared on his screen almost instantly after he’d logged in, and Aidan answered the call.

“What are you doing up so late, I can’t even see you!”

Aidan realised that indeed, he didn’t have a light on.

“Hold on a second,” he said, and he switched on a small lamp on his nightstand. Dean smiled. _God, those dimples._

“There you are. What are you doing up so late?”

Dean was sitting behind his computer. Aidan noticed he was tanner than the last time he’d spoken to him on skype, which only made him a little bit… _alright_ , incredibly jealous. He could also hear Batman barking enthusiastically in the background, something he often did at hearing Aidan’s voice, and his heart swelled at the sound of the dog he loved so much.

“I was out with some of my friends. I finally told them about leaving.”

“Did you? How did it go?”

“It went much better than I thought it would. I don’t know why, I figured they’d be mad at me for leaving but at the other hand, they’re good lads and we rarely have arguments. They trust me that I won’t forget about them, and maybe that makes me feel more guilty about leaving them. Is that weird?”

“Nah, it’s alright. I’m glad they accepted it. There are many ways to stay in touch, I guess they’re simply happy for you. That’s a good thing, right?”

“Yeah, it is…” Aidan said, and he smiled. Dean smiled back at him, and he felt his stomach flutter.

“Adam probably called you too, didn’t he? I’m sorry about that, I spoke to him on skype the other day and he pretty much dragged the news out of me. I don’t know exactly how he found out, but all I could do was confirm that it was true. I hope you’re not mad at me for doing that.”

Aidan laughed at Dean’s guilty face.

“I could never be mad at you, cutie-butt.”

Dean laughed; “What did you call me?”

Aidan shrugged and scratched his face. He really needed to shave. “I think I’m hungry, Dean.”

“Then I suggest you eat, Aidan,” Dean replied sarcastically.

“Good idea, babe.”

Dean shook his head and Aidan disappeared from camera view. A few minutes later he reappeared.

“We’re out of peanut butter,” he complained, and Dean snorted in reply.

“ _What_?”

“Are you drunk, Aidan?”

“Maybe just a little bit.”

“I think you should go to bed. What time is it there anyway?”

Aidan checked his phone for the time, squeezing his eyes together as he did so; “I can’t read it.”

Dean laughed and shook his head. “Then I suggest it’s _really_ time for you to go to sleep.”

“I’m going, I’m going…” Aidan whined; “But I’ll be back.”

He pointed his finger threateningly towards the webcam, but Dean stuck his tongue out at him.

“Yeah right, in three days judging by the last few weeks,” Dean said, faking a pout. Aidan smirked.

“Tomorrow, I promise. Or today for you, if you know what I mean. Whatever, just fucking pick one. And it’s your turn to stay up late.”

Dean nodded in agreement; “Sleep well, baby.”

Aidan blew him a kiss and then shut down his computer.

 

It was five in the morning already, but Aidan just couldn’t sleep. He knew that his dad would be up in about an hour for work and decided he would stay up another hour to join him for breakfast. Aidan was officially unemployed now, though he’d had contact with the Auckland Acting Agency and would sign their application form as soon as he’d settled in. He knew that it would probably be difficult for him to get an acting job there because he was Irish, but he wouldn’t be afraid to take another temporary job to get the money he needed to pay the rent until he did. And Dean was doing really great with his acting and photography, so making enough money wouldn’t really be an issue in the first place.

 

So when he heard his dad’s alarm from across the hallway an hour later, he went downstairs to prepare some breakfast for the two of them. The look of surprise and gratitude on his father’s face when he found the table set and coffee made when he entered the dining room was worth all the effort. His dad patted his shoulder lovingly.

“You’re a good lad, Aidan,” he said with a thick Irish accent. Aidan smiled.

“It’s no big deal, dad.”

They both took place at the dining table. Aidan’s father began to make himself a sandwich, but Aidan just settled with a coffee. His father gave him a curious look.

“Are you alright, son?”

Aidan faked a smile; “Yeah, I’m good, dad.”

His father frowned, but didn’t push him. He didn’t need to, he knew his son well enough to know that it was only a matter of time before Aidan couldn’t help himself anymore. And that’s exactly what happened, because after a few minutes of silence, Aidan started to talk.

“I’m really going to miss you, dad. I’m really grateful that you and mom are so supportive of my decision to move. And that you are so supportive of me being in love with a guy.”

Aidan’s father put his knife down and folded his hands under his chin. He gave his son a stern look.

“Dean is more than just a guy, Aidan. He’s a good lad, and if he makes you happy, we have no reason to be disapproving about it.”

“So you will come and visit sometime?” Aidan asked softly. His father sighed and removed one hand from under his chin to place it on his son’s arm, giving it a little squeeze.

“We’ve talked about this, Aidan. You’re a grown man now, and you’re on the beautiful journey of finding your happiness. If that happiness lies in New Zealand with Dean, then your mother and I think that you should go for it. We will stay in touch, and we will visit as often as we are able to. Are you sure you want to move to Auckland, lad?”

Aidan replied immediately; “I’m one hundred percent sure. I really am, it’s just that I’m scared, you know. I’m scared that I won’t like it once I’m there, I’m afraid that I won’t like it as much as I want to like it. As I thought I would like it. Do you know what I mean? I don’t know what will happen…”

His father gave his arm another squeeze; “There’s only one way to find out, hmm?” He smiled and refilled Aidan’s empty cup with coffee. “Don’t make such a fuss about it. If you’re sure that this is what you want to do, then you should just do it. You loved working in New Zealand, didn’t you?”

Aidan nodded and sipped his coffee.

“Exactly. You called us every week to tell us how much you loved it there. You’ve been so excited about it. It’s understandable that you’re scared to take the big step, but I promise that everything will turn out to be fine. So go back to bed now, I can see you haven’t slept since you’re back from the pub. I know that face. I’ll see you when I’m home from work, don’t argue with me.”

He gave his son a kiss on his cheek and sent him off, but not before calling after him:

“You’re a good son, Aidan, and I want you to follow your dreams. Seeing you happy is all I want.”

 

Aidan couldn’t help the tears from falling as he made his way back towards his bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided I didn’t want to go with the ‘Aidan’s parents are anti-gay’ thing that I’ve read in quite a few fanfictions in this fandom. Maybe that’d be out of character, I don’t know, but I just don’t want the attention of the story to go to that issue. Also, Aidan having a good relationship with his family and friends back home is important for the storyline.
> 
> As always, feel free to leave kudos and/or a comment to let me know what you think. I love reading your comments, I really do! c:
> 
> See you at the next chapter!
> 
> Love,
> 
> Eá <3


	3. Leaving on a Jet Plane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aidan says goodbye to his family and takes off to New Zealand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I obviously made some things up for this chapter and the same will be the case for many future-chapters. That's the freedom of writing fanfiction right? c:
> 
> Hope you'll enjoy this one! x

 

It was four in the morning, still pitch black outside, and Aidan was sitting in the back seat of his father’s brand new Volvo. His dad was too tired to brag about it though, actually, everyone inside of the car was too tired to say a word. Or too nervous, Aidan couldn’t really tell.

His father was driving rather slowly, which could have something to do with the fact that this was the last time he would drive his son anywhere for what was going to be a very long time. In the passenger’s seat sat his mother, who was doing her best not to burst into tears already. On the very left backseat his brother, Brendan, and next to him in the middle seat his wife Meryl. Their two sons were back in Cork with Meryl’s parents. She repeatedly turned her head to the right to look at Aidan and would then smile reassuringly at him. Aidan wasn’t sure why she was doing it, but it did take away some of his nerves. It was as if she could feel that he was struggling with the fact that on one side, he felt like he was dreaming because he would be together with Dean in less than two days, but on the other side, he was leaving everything behind here in Ireland. So he just let his head fall back and shut his eyes to escape from his thoughts for a while. At least it was silent in the car.

After about half an hour of driving, they arrived at the Dublin Airport. His father helped him with getting his luggage out of the trunk of the car, three trollies filled with clothes and some other stuff he either couldn’t or simply didn’t want to leave behind, and together they lifted them onto a cart. The five of them entered the airport and after twenty minutes of walking to reach the right terminal, they formed a circle next to the check-in counters.

“So…” Aidan started nervously, trying to break the tension by interrupting the silence. “I guess I should check in then.”

“I’ll help him, we’ll meet you at Starbucks in a bit,” Brendan said, smiling at his parents and wife, and he took Aidan with him to the small desks.

They didn’t speak a lot while Aidan checked in, apart from the occasional ‘s _hould I press this button or that one?’ o_ r ‘ _fuck, this machine is slow!’_

After a few minutes of fighting with the computer, it finally said that his check-in was complete and his ticket fell out at the bottom. It took Aidan so long to move his hand to take it out that Brendan sighed and did it for him. He gave the paper a little shake and smiled widely before handing it over to his little brother.

“This…” he said, and he folded Aidan’s fingers around the paper in his hand; “Is your ticket to the best time of your life. I really hope you’ll have a fantastic time in New Zealand. That you’ll have a fantastic life together with Dean.”

Aidan was very jealous of how cool his brother was at all of this, because he himself felt his tears prickling behind his eyes, and he quickly turned his face away from his stare to prevent breaking down. It wasn’t really fair too, because Brendan got to see his family whenever he wanted, it was only an hour or two away by car. For him, though, it would be nearly impossible to see his family once he was living with Dean. On the other hand, living without Dean was as painful as living without his family would be. Aidan shook his head in confusion. It was way too early for thought-battles like that.

Brendan seemed to understand his emotions, because he said nothing and just put his hand on his shoulder to direct him towards Starbucks, where the others should be enjoying their coffees by now.

 

After finishing his drink, it was now really time that Aidan went through border patrol and checked in his luggage. They slowly stood up from their seats and made their way back to the terminals to say their goodbyes.

His father was the first to pull him into a big hug. His dad was taller than him, and also a lot stronger, so Aidan was happy he was released from the embrace without any injuries.

“I wish you all the best, son,” he had whispered into his ear before handing him over to his mother, who was of course crying.

“Don’t cry mom, I’ll come visit as often as I can. And we can skype, right? I’ve been skyping with Dean for a year and it was alright,” he mumbled apologetically as he hugged his mother. Her head didn’t reach much further than his shoulder, so he lay his chin down on top of her hair and allowed her to hug him while tears began to creep out of the corners of his own eyes. He wiped them away with the back of his hand a little roughly.

After a few minutes, his father gently pulled his mother away from him, knowing she wouldn’t have let him go on her own until after his plane had taken off. Then his brother and his wife both embraced him. They didn’t say much, but Meryl did press a bag of sweets into his hand, at which he thankfully gave her a kiss on her cheek. After they let him go, he said:

“I will miss you all a lot, and I’m very thankful that you all took this hard decision so well. We’ll skype at my next stop, okay?” He gave everyone one last hug and a kiss before he turned around, pushed his luggage-cart towards the border patrols and queued up. His family continued to wave at him until he disappeared out of view.

 

Dean was woken up by the sound of his mobile phone. He groaned and switched on the lights, searching for his phone with his hands because he was afraid to open his eyes. He had gone to bed early to be able to stay up as late as possible the next day. He was going to pick up Aidan from the airport at around midnight, and by the time they would be in bed, it would probably already be morning. So when he finally found his phone, he squeezed his eyes open and saw it was a message from Aidan. He couldn’t help the grin spreading across his face at reading his name.

_Hey babe, hope I’m not waking you up, but I’m so bored. I’m now in Frankfurt waiting to be called up to board the plane. It’s taking really long so I’m guessing I’m all the way at the back. The flight from Ireland to Germany was great. The stewards were very kind and the view was great despite the shitty weather over here. I really can’t wait for the Auckland summer. I also skyped with my parents for the first time, which actually wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I miss you so much baby, but not for long. I’ll be there really really REALLY soon! Love you xxxxxxxxx_

Dean thought about writing a long reply back, but then realised that Aidan should be on the plane by now. He decided to go for a quick text, hoping that he would be able to see it before he had to turn his phone off for take-off.

_Love you too babe, I can’t wait to see you! Talk to you on skype soon, have a good flight xxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

He grinned and sent it. They always held x-battles over text messages, wanting to send more than the other with every text. He didn’t think they would be able to text a lot while Aidan was travelling, though, but it was still fun. He put his phone away, turned around in bed and cursed. It had taken him ages to be able to fall asleep, being far too excited about Aidan’s arrival to be able to rest. He didn’t feel like trying again, so he stood up and put some sweatpants and a t-shirt on. It was not completely dark outside yet, so he made his way over towards the living room and searched for Batman.

“Wanna go for a walk, boy?” he called, at which his dog immediately barked and came over to him from the kitchen where he was hiding. He was wagging his tail excitedly.

Dean smiled lovingly and put a collar around his dog’s neck. He switched off the lights from his apartment and left the place. There was nothing more calming for him than an evening walk together with his dog. Apart from taking an evening walk with Aidan and his dog, perhaps.

 

“Sir?”

Aidan awoke with a startle by someone gently shaking his shoulders. When he opened his eyes, a lady with dark hair smiled at him and asked him to straighten his seat to prepare for landing. _Wow_ , he thought. He’d managed to actually sleep on this goddamn plane. He would arrive in Singapore shortly and though the clock on the airplane said it was 05:49, he had absolutely no idea what time he was living in himself. His stomach at least confirmed that it was time to eat. _Breakfast then_ , he decided.

So when he got off the plane, he searched for the closest Mc Donald’s purely for the free Wi-Fi. He ordered something for breakfast there that he would probably regret having later, and opened his laptop on one of the tables. During his first stop, he’d only been able to skype with his family and send Dean a text. Now, however, it was his boyfriend’s turn.

“Hey babe, how was your flight?”

Aidan smiled tiredly and waved at Dean through his webcam.

“Horrible, the plane was _incredibly_ crowded and the flight took really long. I kind of hurt my neck falling asleep during the last few hours of the flight. My next plane leaves in two hours and it’s _another_ ten hours of flying. I seriously don’t know if I can make it through alive…”

Aidan rested his head in his hands and sighed deeply, getting frustrated with himself when he felt an urge to cry. He angrily shook his head and took a bite of his blueberry muffin. _Yuck_.

“I’ll make sure you’re nice and spoiled when you’re here with me. You can stay in bed all day and I’ll make you breakfast and coffee and apple-pie. Remember how much you love my homemade apple-pie? I’ll bake it for you so you can have a piece when you’re here, so stay strong okay?”

Aidan smiled and sniffed. “I really love you, babe.”

Dean smiled; “I love you too. The weather is very nice here in Auckland, we had a bit of thunder at night but it cleared up pretty well. Wait, I’ll show you a picture I made while I took Batman for a walk last night. It’s really a –”

“ _Picture from heaven_ ,” Aidan and Dean said together, and they both laughed. Dean held the picture in front of the webcam for Aidan to see. It was a photograph of the sunset, with Batman’s silhouette sitting just underneath the sun. The colours of the sky were a combination of red, orange and purple. It was almost unreal how beautiful New Zealand looked at night. “It looks fantastic, babe, it’s really beautiful. “

“Thanks!” Dean said, and he appeared back in view. “How much more time do we have?”

Aidan shrugged and checked his watch. He grinned. “ _Useless_ , this thing’s still set on Ireland’s time-zone. But I guess I can stay online for another thirty minutes or so. What are you doing?”

“Not much, I slept in so I’ve only been up for about an hour. Weird, huh? How close together our time-zones are now compared to back in Ireland? It’s only four hours now compared to the _bloody eleven_ we’ve been having to deal with for a year.”

“You’re still living in the future, though, but not for much longer. Tonight we’re _finally_ back together again, can you imagine?”

“I know babe, I can hardly believe it still…”

 

So after an hour and a half, Aidan found himself back inside an aircraft _again_. He swore to himself that this was the last airplane he would take in a very, _very_ long time. He was grumpy and easily irritated, but at least he could look forward to seeing his Dean again when he landed. The other good thing was that he was feeling disorientated from the time-difference, and maybe a bit sick from his McDonalds breakfast. He was feeling so tired that he fell asleep almost immediately after the aircraft took off.

 

When he woke up again, the flight was already halfway through. That meant he had to amuse himself in some way for five more hours until he was with Dean. So he grabbed his phone from his pocket and played some silly games until the battery was as good as dead. He cursed to himself when he realised that his Nintendo was currently sitting in one of his trollies with a nice full battery, and he had to take a few deep breaths in order not to throw a rant from how incredibly bored he was. Staring out of the window was one of the best ways to amuse himself when on a long train-ride, but all he could see was clouds. And not the type of clouds that form the shapes of rabbits and elephants with some good imagination. No, just white, useless _crap_. The movie that was being played was the first of the Shrek series, and he had seen it so many times already that he was sure he was going to die of agony if he was ever forced to watch it again. So he tried reading the magazine that was in the pocket of the seat in front of him, and he smiled widely when he came across an old interview with Dean about the first Hobbit movie about halfway through. He read it and read it again until he knew it pretty much by heart, and then rolled it up into a cylinder to hold it close to his chest. The presence of Dean on the flight, even if it was through a rather bad interview, gave him the strength and comfort to hold on for a little longer. So he let his head fall back against the seat and closed his eyes, praying he would find a way to fall asleep and kill some more hours.

 

Aidan was woken up by the ‘ _fasten your seatbelts_ ’ beep. _Oh god_ , Aidan thought as he secured himself to his seat. _It’s happening, we’re finally landing_. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with his palms and looked out of the small airplane window to his left. It was now dark outside, and Aidan could see small lights coming from the city beneath him. When he checked the time on the small screen in the seat in front of him, it informed him that it was 23:32 local time. _Dean’s at the airport_ , Aidan realised with a gasp, and he felt the butterflies flutter inside of his belly. _He’s standing there right now, waiting for me to arrive_.

Aidan could feel the plane beginning to descend, both in his ears and in his stomach. His hands began to get sweaty from the nerves and he could feel his heart rate speeding up with every yard they got closer and closer to the Auckland Airport. When he looked around at the other passengers, he saw people looking bored, exhausted, some of them even irritated. He himself just couldn’t manage to sit still, and he ended up annoying the living hell out of the people around him by nervously tapping his nails on the armrest on his seat, slapping rhythms with the palms of his hands on his knees or simply banging his head to the seat in front of him. When the lady on his right asked him if he could ‘ _please_ calm down, for heaven’s sake,’ he ended up sitting on both of his hands and chewing on his bottom lip nervously until he could see the lights from the runway out of the small window. With a rough _bang_ they landed on the New Zealand ground, and he was pulled forward by the force of the aircraft’s brakes until they finally stood completely still.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have successfully landed in Auckland. The local time is forty minutes past eleven PM, temperature around 20 degrees Celsius with a bit of rain. Please remain in your seats until the aircraft is done taxiing to the right gate. Thank you.”

Aidan began to pack his stuff back into his backpack and hugged it on his lap, resting his head on top of it. The plane began to move again and they passed multiple aircrafts, most of them from Air New Zealand, before standing still again at the gate. The ‘ _fasten your seatbelts_ ’ light switched off and everyone began to rise from their seats and move towards the exit of the plane. Aidan slowly got up too and grabbed the handles of his backpack tightly before following the crowd out.

He walked and walked through corridors and slightly familiar hallways before he arrived at the baggage-pickup. Luckily for him, his bags were one of the first to get off the plane, and he lifted them off the belt one by one and threw them rather forcefully onto his cart.

 _This is it_ , Aidan thought. _He’s here, I’m here. There’s only a few more footsteps keeping us apart_. So Aidan cleared his mind from all thoughts and made his way to the arrival hall. Though it was quite late already, it was still very crowded, and people were pushing each other to try and get out of the airport as quickly as possible. He had to take the elevator down to reach the spot where he and Dean had agreed to meet, and he had to force himself into one of them with six other people, who all complained about his amount of luggage. _If only they knew why_ , he thought grumpily.

When the elevator arrived at the main floor, Aidan managed to squeeze himself out of the small space and pushed his cart forwards, his eyes eagerly searching the crowd for his lover. He was only vaguely aware of the fact that he was the only one wearing long jeans and a hoodie because there, at the very back and waving enthusiastically at him, stood his Dean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So… Aidan’s adventure finally begins, woo-hoo! Feel free to leave a comment, don’t be shy, I love reading them! 
> 
> See you at the next chap!
> 
> Love,
> 
> Eá <3


	4. Welcome home, my love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Aidan are finally reunited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I kind of had to update the rating to E for this one. Not that any of you care, of course c;

 

“Dean…” Aidan whispered, his bottom lip starting to tremble, and before he knew what he was doing he abandoned his luggage and sprinted his way through the crowd towards his lover. Dean held his arms out widely for him and they both tumbled backwards when Aidan jumped into his embrace, laughing and crying together as they held each other close. Aidan wrapped his arms tightly around Dean’s neck and didn’t even try to control his emotions. He was too happy to be together with the love of his life again to care about things like that.

“Oh baby…” Dean said, moving to sit on his knees and pulling his boyfriend closer to him. He rubbed Aidan’s back to comfort him and kissed him multiple times in his neck. “I missed you so much, baby.”

“Me too,” Aidan managed to say through his tears, and he buried his face back into Dean’s neck. His boyfriend held him until he calmed down a bit, and Dean gave him a few soft kisses on his lips. Aidan leaned into the contact and stroked Dean’s stubbly cheeks with the palms of his hands until they broke apart.

“Come,” Dean said, and he helped Aidan to stand up; “Let’s just get your stuff and leave this place. It’s late and people are staring at us. Oh, and I made apple-pie for you a couple of hours ago, like I promised on skype. It’s still very fresh, we really need to try it.”

Aidan chuckled and sniffled. “I can’t believe you’re thinking about pie right now. And fuck the people that are staring, grown men are allowed to cry too.”

He wiped his cheeks dry with the sleeve of his sweater and went to collect his cart before the guards were able to suspect it from containing a bomb or something like that. He then walked with Dean out of the Airport, holding each other’s hands tightly.

 

“I almost forgot about your shitty car,” Aidan joked on their way to Dean’s apartment. Dean snorted but smiled anyway.

“There’s nothing wrong with my car, it’s only old. And maybe a bit smelly…”

“I can’t even count the amount of times it’s broken down anymore. I swear if that happens now I will –”

“ _Relax_ , drama-queen. It’s been fixed recently so it should be just fine. You really talk a lot too, man, I figured you’d be tired from travelling?”

“Well that’s my secret,” Aidan said with a proud smile; “I slept through most of the thing. Which actually hasn’t done my jet-lag much good because now probably I won’t be able to sleep through the night…”

“Which means you’re going to keep _me_ up all night, thanks a lot!”

Aidan grinned mischievously. “Don’t tell me now that you _mind_ me keeping you up all night.”

Dean blushed furiously at that.

 

Dean parked his car in front of his apartment and led Aidan to the front door. He paused to kiss him passionately on the lips before opening the door for him, saying: “Welcome home, my love.”

Aidan smiled widely and stepped inside. A strong smell of apple-pie met him almost instantly, which made his stomach rumble painfully. Dean laughed and hugged him tightly from behind. “I think someone’s hungry,” he whispered.

“Why don’t you say hi to Bat, he really missed you. I’ll take care of the pie,” he continued as he walked towards the kitchen. Dean’s dog had already reacted to hearing Aidan’s voice and was now running towards him at full speed. Aidan bended down before being thrown forcefully onto his back. He laughed as the dog licked his face and barked excitedly, sitting on top of his chest so that he couldn’t get away.

“Little bit of help here,” he called out, and Dean came back from the kitchen to pull his dog off of him. He then held out a hand to help him stand back up again and guided him towards the living room. When they entered, Aidan gasped and covered his open mouth with both of his hands.

Dean had completely changed his living room since Aidan had last seen it. On the walls now hung countless of pictures of them together, the old worn-out couch had been replaced with a brand new one, as was his television and dining table. But what was more heart-warming was the fact that Dean had hung the flag of Ireland on the wall above the couch, and more things to remind Aidan of his fatherland stood around the place, such as multiple picture frames with photos of famous Irish buildings, and there was also a small statue of a leprechaun on the coffee table. Aidan was speechless, so when Dean carefully asked him if he liked it, all he could do was nod and kiss him full on the mouth.

When they were done kissing, and that sure took a while, Aidan walked around the room to take everything in before joining Dean at the dining table to eat their pie. They didn’t speak much while they enjoyed Dean’s fantastic baking, but they did share a lot of shy looks and giggles. Being away from each other for so long brought back the innocentness in their relationship, something Aidan liked a lot. He enjoyed it for the time being, because knew that it wouldn’t take long before they would be laughing at each other’s burps and farts again. They were boys after all.

“So…” Dean started after both of them had cleaned their plates until the last crumb. “What do you want to do first?”

“I think you know very well what I want to do first,” Aidan said with a grin. He knew talking dirty was something that would make Dean blush more than anything, and that was exactly why he did it. He leaned over the table a little bit to get closer to Dean’s face, and he brushed his lips softly over his. He traced a path of kisses across his cheek until he reached his lover’s ear, whispering suggestively: “Why don’t you show me what you changed in the bedroom, hmm?”

That was all it took for Dean to forcefully grab Aidan by the collar of his hoodie and pull him on top of the table. They kissed each other hungrily and eagerly, the thirst they’d been having for each other for the past twelve months now finally quenched. With enough force to rip some of the stitching, Dean pulled Aidan’s sweatshirt off, only to find another t-shirt underneath.

“Jesus _Christ_ , Aidan. Off with that thing,” he groaned, at which his lover ripped off his shirt and threw it down onto the floor beneath them. The table made pained noises while the two men kissed each other passionately, and when one of its legs was about to give out, Dean cupped Aidan’s jaw and squeezed it. Aidan looked back at him hungrily.

“ _Bedroom_ ,” was all Dean said, and Aidan followed him obediently, already loosening his belt while he chased his lover up the stairs.

Once there, Dean pushed him onto the bed and pampered his body with kisses, tracing a line from his jaw down to his collarbones with his tongue and biting his nipples, causing Aidan to moan loudly. Dean ripped open Aidan’s jeans and pulled his pants and boxers down altogether. He kissed and traced patterns with his tongue around his lover’s crotch, so close to his erection that it had him squirming for more, but he was deliberately not touching it. He’d get to that later.

He forcefully turned Aidan over onto his stomach and removed his own jeans and boxers before sitting down just above his hips. He pulled Aidan’s head backwards by his hair and leaned closer in order to whispered into his ear: “I’ve planned this very carefully while you were away. I’m going to do some really naughty things to you tonight.”

Aidan moaned and tried to move his hips to create some friction, but that only caused Dean to pull his hair with a bit more strength. “And this will take at least until dawn.”

He released his hair, at which Aidan’s head sank back into the pillows. He turned around to face the wall and repositioned himself so that he had easy access to his lover’s beautiful bum. He kneaded his round cheeks before he spread them, running his tongue feather lightly over his pucker. Aidan moaned loudly and arched his back like he always did when Dean used this treatment during foreplay. It was one of his lover’s many weak-spots, and Dean absolutely loved the way he reacted to his touch.

Aidan continued to groan and pant while Dean rimmed him, and it wasn’t until Aidan was sure that he couldn’t take anymore that his lover finally stopped and turned him back onto his back. Dean kissed him roughly on the mouth, all tongue and teeth, before tracing a path of kisses down his chest and stomach until he reached his now throbbing dick again.

“ _Please_ ,” Aidan begged, and this time Dean didn’t skip his lover’s pleasure organ. Instead, he took all of Aidan into his mouth, tracing circles around the head with his tongue and sucking with every outwards motion, making Aidan groan and yell out at the sensation. He pleasured Aidan until he was nearly reaching his peak, which Dean could tell by his moans getting higher and higher and his legs wrapping more tightly around his middle. So he gave his cock one last suck before crawling off the bed to reach his dresser. He opened the top drawer to retrieve a bottle of lube, one that not only smelled but also tasted really good, making it both his and Aidan’s favourite brand. When he turned around to walk back, he stopped for a moment to just admire the look of Aidan on his bed, all naked and panting heavily. Panting because of what _he_ did to him. He had been longing for this moment for many months and now he was finally here; his beautiful, handsome Irish lover, so very arousing in his nude state and all ready for him to take.

So he jumped back on top of the bed and turned Aidan back onto his stomach, coated his fingers generously with the oil. He extensively massaged the tightness out of his lover’s back and shoulder muscles, extracting loud, shameless moans from him. He kneaded his way downwards, paying much attention to his beautiful naked bum before he reached his destination. He gently massaged his lover’s entrance before carefully pushing the first finger in, earning him another one of Aidan’s beautiful moans. He moved his finger around a bit before adding a second one. He deepened them and adjusted his angle with every inwards motion until he found what he had been looking for.

“ _Dean_ ,” Aidan moaned, and he arched his back when his lover hit his prostate again and again, breaking into a sweat when he felt him adding a third finger. “Please, I’m ready, just… just _get it going_.”

Dean laughed and covered his own hard erection with lube before rolling Aidan back onto his back and entering the warm tightness of his lover. He hissed at how good it felt to be inside him again, eyes nearly rolling back in his head at the pleasure, but he forced himself to stay still in case Aidan didn’t feel so comfortable. Neither of them had had proper sex for a year, so Dean didn’t want to rush it in case he’d cause his lover discomfort or even pain.

“That good?” he asked therefore, but Aidan groaned and pushed his hips forward to get Dean to move. So Dean took that as a ‘yes’ and began to thrust, trying to find the perfect angle to hit Aidan’s pleasure spot. He knew it quickly enough when he did, because Aidan practically screamed with need every time he pushed inwards.

“Ha, you like that?” Dean teased, and Aidan could only groan in reply. “I love the sounds you make when I fuck you like this.”

“ _God_ ,” Aidan moaned, and he claimed Dean’s mouth with his, kissing him roughly until their lips were a deep shade of red. “I’m close, Dean, I’m _really_ close.”

Dean moved his hand and grabbed Aidan’s dripping length, pulling it with the same rhythm as his own thrusts. “Come for me then. _Show me how much you missed me_.”

“ _Jesus_ ,” Aidan moaned; “That’s it, babe, just like that. Christ Dean, you’re – _oh_ _God_ …” Aidan was babbling like he always did when he was close, and it took Dean only a few more strokes of his hand before his lover came all over his stomach and chest, cursing and screaming his name as his orgasm overwhelmed him. Watching his lover lose himself like that was enough to take Dean over the edge as well, and he moaned as he spilled his seed deep inside his lover, riding out his climax until the sensation became too much to bear. He then pulled out carefully and let himself fall down on top of Aidan, burying his face into his lover’s warm neck while they both tried to catch their breaths.

Slowly coming back to earth, Aidan started rubbing Dean’s muscular back and pressed multiple kisses onto the side of his face. He was feeling high from the power of his orgasm, so he stretched himself extensively before placing his hands into Dean’s short curls, playing with his lover’s hair and scratching his skull feather lightly with his nails. Not only did it help to calm himself down from their intense lovemaking, it also happened to be something that made his lover melt into a puddle of goo when he did it.

“God, _Aid_ …” Dean moaned, and he adjusted his position to lie a bit more comfortably. He was still spread out on top of Aidan, his head rising and falling along with his lover’s breathing. “That feels _so fucking good_ after sex.”

Aidan chuckled, a warmth of love and happiness spreading inside his chest; “I know how much you love it when I do that, and you deserve it. That was the best round I think we’ve ever had, babe.”

Dean only hummed in pleasure as Aidan continued to run his fingers through his hair, into the back of his neck and behind his ears. Dean started to feel incredibly sleepy, both from the fact that it was now very late, or actually very early, and because Aidan’s skilful fingers gave him goose bumps all over his body. He yawned with his mouth wide open and then snuggled closer into his lover’s hold. Aidan interrupted his massage for a moment to pull the covers over the both of them, and when he continued again, Dean fell asleep only a couple of minutes later. Aidan was far from tired due to his jetlag, though, so he waited a little longer until he was sure that Dean was out before getting up and gently washing his and his lover’s belly and chest clean with a wash cloth. He didn’t bother to get dressed so he stepped back into bed completely naked. Dean had shifted to lie onto his stomach, so he sat down next to him with his legs crossed, coated his hands with the lube that was still standing on top of the night-stand and began to gently massage his sleeping lover’s back. Or not-sleeping lover, because Dean groaned in pleasure at the treatment.

“You’re spoiling the shit out of me, Aidan. What did I deserve this for?” he asked sleepily.

Aidan grinned but didn’t stop; “I just love you _very_ much, babe.”

Dean chuckled and rested his head onto his folded arms, falling back asleep not very long after. Aidan allowed him to, and after three hours of just spooning his lover, pressing soft kisses onto his shoulder-blades or absent-mindedly tickling light patterns onto his muscular back with his fingers, which sometimes earned him a soft giggle or a sigh from his sleeping boyfriend, he finally managed to doze off himself. They slept all tangled up together, warm and comfortable, dreaming good dreams with faded smiles still imprinted on their faces. Aidan unconsciously pulled Dean closer and closer to him as he slept. It was just so good to be back together with him again, and he was never going to leave him anymore. Not for anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I hope you liked this one c:
> 
> Love,
> 
> Eá <3


	5. Settling In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys relax at home. Aidan gets lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do really like writing domestic Aidean and if I keep doing that I'm not going to get this story told in 20 chapters...
> 
> We'll just see what happens! <3

 

Dean woke up the next day from the best sleep he’d had in a very, _very_ long time. Completely relaxed and well-rested, he yawned and stretched his back before turning his head around to face his lover, who had one arm wrapped around his chest and one leg tangled around his hip. Dean thought he looked absolutely adorable when he was asleep, with his mouth slightly open and his hair all messy and tangled. Dean felt a loving warmth spreading inside his chest as he guiltily studied his sleeping boyfriend, and he couldn’t help the urge to softly rub his knuckles over his stubbly cheek. Aidan didn’t respond to his touch at all. _Sleepy head_ , Dean thought with a smile.

Dean’s stomach did respond though, and it responded by loudly complaining about its lack of content. But also the rumbling of his belly didn’t awaken his love, so he decided to wake him up himself to see if he felt like having something for breakfast. Or was it lunch..?

“Baby, do you want something to eat?” he whispered, kissing his boyfriend on the cheek softly as he sat up a bit straighter. Aidan groaned and turned around in bed, turning his back to him and dozing off again straight away. Dean decided to just let him sleep for a little bit longer, he’d taken off work until after the weekend anyway, so he opened the curtains to let some light in and went downstairs to make himself a sandwich. He also brewed two cups of coffee and took both of them and his plate back to the bedroom. There, Aidan was now lying on his back and held a pillow over his face to block out the light. Dean put the tray down onto the nightstand and sat down next to his lover onto the matrass. He teasingly stroke a finger from his exposed armpit down to his hip, at which Aidan squirmed and sleepily tried to push Dean’s hand away, groaning and muttering a few inaudible insults at him in the process.

“I made you some coffee, babe. You really should get up now, it’s past noon.”

Aidan sighed deeply and removed the pillow from his face, still squeezing his eyes shut against the brightness.

“Man I feel like I’ve had a hundred beers last night. Close the fucking blinds, will you?” he complained, so Dean got up from the bed to shut the curtains for him. He then handed Aidan his coffee, which he downed in only a few gulps. Dean joined him in bed again and started on his sandwich.

“If you’re hungry, there’s another one for you in the fridge downstairs,” Dean said in between mouthfuls, but Aidan shook his head.

“No, I’m fine,” he said, and he rested his head onto Dean’s chest, waiting for his lover to finish eating. He grew impatient pretty quickly and began to kiss and bite his boyfriend’s neck, tracing patterns with his tongue and nibbling at his earlobe.

“Babe, if you want me to finish this quickly you’ll have to stop doing that,” Dean laughed, and when Aidan grumpily complied, he quickly stuffed the remaining of his brunch into his mouth and tossed the plate onto the carpeted floor. As soon as he’d swallowed his last bite, Aidan possessively claimed his mouth and pushed him down into the mattress. Both still naked from the fun they’d had last night, he pressed his growing erection down onto Dean’s, at which his lover let out a chocked moan.

“You’re an animal, Aidan,” he said tentatively when his lover kissed him all over his body and bit into his flesh. “I fucking _love it_.”

His breathing grew more heavy the lower Aidan’s kisses went, and he could feel the blood pumping through his length as he grew more and more excited. He complained when Aidan stopped with what he was doing to turn his head around. He gave him a look that was so sexy it made him shudder.

“What do you want me to do?” he asked teasingly, eyes all hunger and lust. Dean blushed but didn’t look away.

“You know what I want you to do,” he said shyly, but that wasn’t enough for Aidan to continue. He slowly crawled closer to Dean’s face and kissed him, still looking him into the eyes when his nose pressed onto his lover’s.

“Tell me –” he whispered, tracing the outline of Dean’s lips with his tongue; “– exactly what you want.”

The passion in which Aidan spoke to him made him forget everything around him, so he pulled his lover closer to his chest and bit his bottom lip.

“ _I want you to make me forget my own name_ ,” Dean whispered into his ear with red cheeks, and Aidan shuddered.

“I can arrange that,” he answered with a mischievous smile, and he kissed his way back down Dean’s body again. He stopped at his nipples to make sure they were nice and hard before he very slowly moved further downwards. He enjoyed how Dean gasped at every trace of his tongue, how he moaned when Aidan got lower and how he panted with lust and need. When Aidan finally reached his lover’s beautiful erect cock, he spread the pre-come that leaked from the tip around its head with his finger, at which Dean hissed and groaned.

“Wow, someone’s excited,” Aidan teased, sticking his finger into his mouth and licking it clean, not tearing his eyes away from Dean’s. “Let’s see how you react to this.”

He swallowed Dean as deeply as he could, sucking with every upwards move and licking around the head with the tip of his tongue. He loved the sounds his lover made when he blew him, the moans that would grow from soft and sweet to shameless groans and begging. Aidan watched closely at how Dean gripped the bed sheets tightly as his lips moved over his shaft, how his ribs peeked through his skin at every inhale of breath, and at how his eyes rolled back into his head when he rubbed his tongue over his sensitive frenulum. It was an incredibly erotic sight, and it made his own cock twitch.

“Please, _please_ stop, I can’t –” he begged when Aidan continued to pleasure him with his skilful mouth; “I can’t hold this much longer.”

Aidan stopped for a while to reply, and Dean used the break to try and catch his breath. Aidan grinned at the sight.

“Really? Well that’s unfortunate, because I have no intention at all to stop with what I’m doing,” Aidan teased and he licked at the very tip of Dean’s swollen cock, making his lover shudder beautifully before taking him into his mouth again.

Dean let his head fall back onto the cushions and cursed loudly, moving his hips along with Aidan’s movement. He worked his cock as deeply into his lover’s throat as he could handle, and skilful as he was, he could handle a lot. He began to feel the familiar tingling of his orgasm creeping closer, and his breathing grew faster and heavier.

“Babe, _babe_ , you’re… I’m –” Dean almost yelled when Aidan added a hand at the base of his cock to assist his mouth, and he moaned in pleasure when he also began to massage his stones with his other one. He brought his hands to Aidan’s head and began to pull lightly at his hair, at which his lover groaned approvingly.

“Don’t, _please_ , d-don’t stop,” he continued to babble as Aidan worked his skills and though he tried and tried, the moment that he wasn’t going to be able to hold it anymore came closer and closer.

“ _Aid_ , baby, I’m going to come if you don’t stop now,” he warned one last time, but in reply his lover only increased his speed and the pressure of his hand pumping along with his lips. Dean sobbed and called out Aidan’s name loudly before his whole body shuddered when his orgasm overtook him. He could think of nothing else but the intense pleasure that shot through his body, shaking with every contraction and shooting warm liquid into his lover’s mouth and throat, who eagerly swallowed it all down.

Aidan slowed down his pumping and let Dean’s softening length slip out of his mouth when he was sure that his lover was completely done. He grinned at his heavy panting and began to play with the soft curls of his lover’s pubes, tracing his fingers gently over his stomach and around his bellybutton, watching how goose bumps appeared on his beautiful skin. Dean groaned and shifted a bit on top of the bed sheets. Through his heavy breathing he still managed to say:

“ _Holy shit_ , Aid. That was the b-best orgasm I think I’ve ever… ever had.”

Aidan smirked proudly at the compliment, and continued to rub his belly. When Dean seemed to have returned to earth, Aidan kissed him passionately on the mouth, allowing his lover to taste himself on his tongue. Dean pulled him closer to him and worked his hands through his dark curls, paying close attention to a certain area just above his neck which he knew was Aidan’s weak-spot.

“Shall I return the favour, then?” he whispered with a teasing smile. Aidan moaned and gave him a dark, lustful look.

“I was afraid you’d never ask.”

 

After two hours of more bedroom-activities and getting themselves ready in the bathroom, Dean and Aidan finally made it into the living room, where Aidan immediately threw himself onto the couch in exhaustion. Dean went to the kitchen to refill Batman’s food and water bowls and brew them some more coffee.

“Did you actually sleep at all tonight?” he asked when he saw Aidan curling around a pillow and resting his head onto the armrest. His reply was a muffled hum, and Dean figured he probably wasn’t going to be of much use for at least the first few days here in Auckland. He looked worn out, and he obviously spent the last of his energy on their multiple rounds of passionate love-making. He took the two mugs of coffee over to the living room and sat down next to him, at which Aidan immediately repositioned himself to snuggle into his lap. He almost automatically brought a hand down to comb it through Aidan’s still damp curls, and the Irishman on his lap yawned and stretched himself before closing his eyes, enjoying the feeling of Dean’s fingers wriggling the knots out of his hair.

“Don’t fall asleep, babe. Wouldn’t want to waste such a good coffee, hm?”

Oh, yeah, _coffee_. Aidan blindly searched for the mug with his hand and knew immediately where it was standing on the floor beneath him when he dipped his fingers right into the hot liquid.

“ _Fuck, fucking, fuckery fuck_ ,” he cursed, elbowing Dean in the ribs as he reflexively pulled back his arm, and he muttered while he stuck the burnt fingertips into his mouth.

“What did you do?” Dean laughed, rubbing the sore spot on his side. When Aidan showed him his hand, which was turning slightly red and was more disgustingly covered in saliva, he gave his boyfriend an apologetic kiss on the forehead before reaching over to grab the remote. He zapped a bit while Aidan made himself comfortable again, letting his coffee gradually turn cold in some sort of revenge for hurting him.

“Do you want to watch master chef, babe?” he asked after a while, unable to find a better alternative that they could watch. Aidan chuckled.

“Yeah _please_ do, it may just improve your horrible cooking.”

Dean gasped at the insult, and Aidan immediately burst into laughter at his reaction.

“You’ve just made a terrible mistake there, Aidan Turner,” he hissed, and he easily dug his fingers into his lover’s sides, who was still spread out on top of his lap. The reaction was brilliant, because his boyfriend happened to be very ticklish.

“N-no! Dean, it’s a joke, it’s a joke!” Aidan yelled as Dean continued to tickle his ribs; “ _Please_ , babe, I didn’t, _STOP_ –”

Aidan broke into a fit of uncontrollable giggles when Dean’s hands crawled under his thin t-shirt and made contact with the bare skin of his back, laughing breathlessly at the fingers brushing over the sensitive spots on his lower back and kneading into the muscles of his sides. With a lot of wriggling, pinching and slapping, he finally managed to escape from the torturous attack. He crawled onto the floor as far away as possible from Dean, who was of course laughing at him. _Stupid dickhead_.

“Yeah, very funny. I’m going to hang out with Batman, I don’t like you anymore,” he muttered, and he stood up from the ground and walked over to the small hallway to find the dog’s collar. He called Batman’s name and kissed its head lovingly when it obediently came over to him from his dog-bed, wagging its tail excitedly at the prospect of a nice walk outside.

“He does need a walk,” Dean agreed, and he came over to stand behind Aidan, who was still breathing a bit more heavily than usual. He wrapped his arms protectively around his waist and stood on the tips of his toes to be able to put his chin down onto his shoulder; “I’m sorry babe, you’re just so cute when you laugh. Do you want me to come along?”

Aidan shook his head and put his hands on top of Dean’s, intertwining their fingers; “Nah, you can just stay here and relax. I know the way. I kind of missed Bat too, we have a lot of time to catch up with.”

Dean laughed, pressing a kiss into his lover’s neck; “I bet you secretly missed him more than you missed me.”

Aidan turned Dean around and held him close to his chest, melting into the beautiful blue eyes that stared back into his. He worked his fingers through his blond curls. “I didn’t, actually. But even if I did, I can assure you that I love _you_ more.”

Dean smiled and wrapped his arms tightly around his neck, claiming his mouth with a passionate kiss.

 

_Aidan is calling._

Dean woke up from his nap with a startle by his phone loudly and enthusiastically performing the YMCA. Dean cursed at first but then laughed, shaking his head as he stretched his back. Aidan often pulled pranks on him by changing his ringtone into something stupid and embarrassing, hoping to catch him getting called in public and then laughing at him until he couldn’t breathe anymore. So when he saw it was Aidan, he smiled as he picked up his phone to answer the call.

“Aidan, what’s up?”

“ _Yeah, hi. So eh… remember when I said I knew the way? I eh, I kind of lied I guess. I was just walking around and now I have absolutely no idea where I’m at, and Bat’s getting pretty tired._ ”

Dean laughed at the confession but then stopped himself quickly. He didn’t want to make his boyfriend feel embarrassed about something as common as getting lost, especially so soon after moving. Aidan was a bit sensitive about things like that. So he stood up from the couch to go collect his coat as he kept talking to him through the phone.

“Do you see a street sign somewhere? Or a big building?”

“ _I was just walking around Western Park and when I got out I had no idea where I was at. Eh, I just passed a bus stop but it didn’t have a fucking map so I kept on walking. I shouldn’t be too far away… Wait, I’ll walk back to see which stop it was._ ”

So Dean waited for Aidan to find it, and after a few minutes in which they didn’t say very much, his boyfriend made an excited noise, and he could hear him beginning to breathe more heavily as he started running.

“ _There it is, right there, it says… It says St Marys College.”_

“Ah, see that’s completely the other way from Western Park than home. But it’s okay, I’ll come pick you up. I’ll be there in a few minutes, okay?”

“ _Yeah, yeah see you…_ ”

 

Aidan wasn’t really happy when they were back in the car. Maybe bad-tempered was a better way to say it, or just plain _grumpy_. He didn’t say anything and when Dean asked him if he enjoyed his walk, he just shrugged and turned his face away from him to stare out of the car-window. Dean just let him mutter for a while, knowing a that strong cup of tea and some leftover pie back home would cheer him up in no time. And it did, because as soon as their cups and plates were empty, Aidan was laughing again.

They spent the rest of the day snuggling on the couch, eating greasy delivery pizza for dinner and watching shitty television shows with their arms and legs wrapped tightly around each other. After finishing the fourth episode of the _‘60 Minute Makeover’_ marathon they were watching, they decided to go to bed early, and the only way to motivate themselves to actually move their arses from the sofa to the bedroom was the promise that they would at least have one good round of sex before turning in. Though once in bed, they were too exhausted to get much further than a few lazy kisses, so Dean pulled his lover close to him and began stroking his hand up and down Aidan’s back, waiting for him to fall asleep. His petting grew slower and slower until finally, not very long after his love had begun to snore softly, his hand stopped moving completely as he drifted off himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I very much enjoy reading your comments, so don't be shy to leave one! c:
> 
> Love,
> 
> Eá <3


	6. Good Luck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aidan has his first audition in New Zealand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, this chapter turned out to be a bit longer than I planned... 
> 
> Well then, hope you like it anyway! x

 

“Babe, babe you won’t believe what just happened!” Aidan shouted enthusiastically as he ran into the kitchen where Dean was preparing their dinner.

 

It was now exactly one month after his plane had landed on the New Zealand ground that he received a phone call from Amanda, his acting agent, informing him that she had arranged an audition for him for a small role in the soap opera ‘Shortland Street’. It wasn’t very much, but it could be the beginning of a bigger career for him on the New Zealand television she had said, and Aidan had had a very hard time trying to stay cool while talking to her on the telephone. As soon as she’d given him all the details and had hung up, Aidan had screamed and shouted in celebration and had almost tripped and fallen down the stairs in order to get to Dean as quickly as possible. He’d jumped into his arms and they both tumbled down onto the stone kitchen floor, not very much to his lover’s amusement.

“ _Ouch_ , Jesus fucking Christ, Aidan! What the hell?” Dean muttered grumpily while he rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head, but his attention was rapidly taken away from the pounding pain when his lover kissed him passionately onto his lips. When he released him from his grip, he immediately began to gabble.

“Amanda called, she-she called me and I… she arranged an audition! She scheduled an audition for me! Can you believe it? After a _whole_ bloody fucking month we finally did it!” Aidan jumped up from where they were still sitting on the ground and ran towards where Batman was slumbering on the couch. He lifted him up into a big hug and spun him around in circles, much to Dean’s amusement.

“You hear that Bat? Daddy’s going to get a job! Yes he is, yes!” he said in a high-pitch voice, and Dean laughed before continuing with his cooking. It had already began to smell like burning.

“What for? You know, the audition,” Dean called from the kitchen after a while, and at that Aidan released the dog and came back over to him, wrapping his arms tightly around his middle and kissing him on the tip of his nose.

“Shortland Street,” he answered with an enormous smile; “Didn’t you play in that when you were what, sixteen?”

“Twenty,” Dean corrected, and he gave his lover a quick peck before continuing his cooking. “That’s great, babe. I’m really happy for you!”

 

And Dean was happy for him. Very happy actually, because unlike Aidan, he had been doing pretty good with work lately. He got asked to shoot pictures for magazines more often than before and he had taken on several small guest-roles in TV shows, which weren’t all for lousy soaps like Shortland Street. Aidan was growing more and more jealous of his success. Though Dean saw that he tried his very best not to show it, he still knew it from the small things like how he would suddenly become very silent when Dean was getting himself ready for work,  or how he would sometimes already be in bed when he got back home from a shoot, pretending to be asleep when Dean joined him in bed. On the day that he recieved the phone call that confirmed that he was given a small appearance in a particularly popular New Zealand series, Aidan had been really sweet about it, had made fantastic dinner for him and had even given him one of the most passionate rounds of sex that they had ever had. Dean felt relieved about the thought that Aidan had finally gotten over his jealousy of his success, but that thought rapidly vanished when he woke up in the middle of the night to an empty bed and the sound of Aidan softly crying in the bathroom. He’d never mentioned hearing that to him, of course not, but it had broken his heart into a thousand pieces and it had made him feel incredibly guilty and miserable about it for a long time afterwards.

So now that Aidan had finally been given his shot at gaining more fame, Dean decided that was something that needed to be celebrated. So when they were done with eating dinner, he took hold of Aidan’s hand and gently led him to the front door without saying a single word.

“Eh, Dean?” Aidan mumbled confused when his lover opened the front door like a gentleman and waited for him to step through, but Dean only smiled and shook his head.

“Just come with me, I know a special place where we haven’t been for quite a while. I promise you’ll love it.”

So Aidan just shrugged and walked outside, taking hold of Dean’s hand almost automatically as they made their way over to god knows where.

 

Dean didn’t answer him every time that Aidan whiningly asked where they were going, but eventually he figured out himself where they were heading to, and he smiled widely at the realisation that they were not going to just a pub in Auckland. No, they were heading to _their_ pub in Auckland.

“Do you remember this bar?” Dean asked once they were sat down at a high table.

“How could I not?” Aidan answered, staring into Dean’s eyes and meeting a look filled with love; “This is the one, isn’t it?”

“I know we were kind of drunk, but still…”

“It was a kiss…”

“I can’t even remember what happened after that,” Dean smirked shyly, thanking the young woman who brought them two glasses of their most favourite brand of beer.

“You brought me home, I remember that. And then we kissed again, and I asked you to stay at my place for the night but you thought it was too soon.”

Aidan laughed at the memory and swallowed a few gulps of his drink. “I thought you were really cute, you know. Yeah, you were very cute back then.”

Dean just shook his head, blushing slightly at the memory. “Every relationship starts with awkward kisses and embarrassing love-making. But I have nothing to complain about anymore now, have you?”

Aidan took a moment to think about that question. “Maybe apart from your stinky breath in the morn–”

Dean dragged Aidan closer by pulling on the collar of his t-shirt and then kissed him full on the mouth, pretty much the only way to really get his boyfriend to shut up for a few seconds. They spent the rest of the night getting pleasantly drunk and talking about anything that came up into their conversation. Mostly they discussed ‘Shortland Street’, but also Dean’s photography and of course Ireland. In the end, Aidan was drunk enough to start begging Dean to get a cat, something he did more often when he’d had too much to drink, and Dean sighed in defeat and buried his face in his hands while his boyfriend rattled on about how they should adopt a few kittens and how were so useful and that they would never have to get rid of any insects in their apartment anymore. The promise to ‘think about it’ was fortunately for Dean enough to satisfy his boyfriend, and with a huge smile on his face he went back to the bar to have their glasses refilled.

 

“ _God_ , Aidan,” Dean panted as he was lying spread-out on top of their bed. They had just completed a round of… let’s call it _interesting_ drunken sex and he was now enjoying a little moment of staring at his handsome Irish lover, who had thought it was fun idea to top tonight and was now licking the semen away from his bellybutton like a porn-star. He gasped at the soft tickling sensation of his tongue scraping over his now extra sensitive skin. “You know, I’m _really_ glad you’re back.”

Aidan smirked and leaned in for a kiss, which Dean gladly returned. He could taste himself on his lover’s tongue, and he groaned when Aidan broke the kiss and whispered into his ear: “Are you in for another round?”

Dean sighed and stared down at his manhood, which had quite disappointingly shrunken in size. “I am, but I’m not sure if little Dean is.”

“Hmm,” Aidan grinned as he let his fingers run feather-lightly over Dean’s stomach down to his crotch, playing with the blond curls of his pubes and softly massaging his lover’s stones. He rubbed a single finger over the very tip of his cock, and Dean gasped at the sensation. Aidan giggled softly. “I think he’s waking up there.”

“Yes,” Dean groaned as he felt the wet warmth of his lover’s mouth engulfing his length. “Yeah I think he is.”

Dean let go of all his thoughts as he lost himself to his lover’s fantastic lovemaking talents several more times that night. At least being drunk was an excuse to wake up your neighbours from their well-deserved sleep in the middle of the night with your shameless pornographic moans. Surely they’d understand that the sex was absolutely necessary, right?

 

Three days later, Dean awoke in the morning to find his bed empty apart from a small, handwritten note. He rubbed his eyes and took a few minutes to get used to the light before he turned around in bed to read it.

 

_Hey babe,_

_I’m gone for the audition, but I should be back before lunch. I didn’t want to wake you up, I know you needed your sleep since you were home so late last night. I made you something for breakfast, it’s in the fridge._

_Love you,_

_A_

Dean smiled as he folded the paper into a small square and grabbed his phone from the nightstand. He dialled Aidan’s number and silently prayed that he would pick up. Maybe he was just in time before he was called to audition.

_“Aidan Turner speaking?”_

“It’s me, you dork. Did you seriously think that I was going to let you go to the auditions before wishing you good luck?”

Aidan laughed at the other side of the line. _“You’ve done plenty of auditions without me wishing you good luck and you almost always got the part. Maybe that’s what brings luck?_ ”

Dean grinned and shook his head. “Good luck baby. Go make me proud, I’ll take you out for lunch when you’re back.”

“ _Sounds great, it shouldn’t be much longer. Amanda said 10:30 so, yeah…_ ”

“I’m sure you’ll be great. They’re going to love you.”

“ _Thanks babe, I really need to hang up now. They could call me any moment. Love you!_ ”

“Love you too, my handsome Irish muffin.”

Aidan only laughed before hanging up on him. Dean spent the rest of the morning with his fingers crossed on both of his hands, unable to even look at the sandwich that Aidan had made for him without feeling sick from the nerves.

 

“Aidan Turner?”

Aidan quickly looked up from his phone to see a middle aged lady standing in the doorway of the audition-room. He shoved his phone back into the pocket of his jeans and with the handles of his bag-pack secured tightly in his hand, he followed her inside. There, two men and a woman were already sat down on chairs, and they only looked up to face him when he nervously coughed and introduced himself.

“Eh, good morning. My name is Aidan Tur–”

“Interesting accent you’ve got there, mister Turner. Did you bring your resume?”

 _Shit_ , Aidan thought as he quickly searched through his bag to find the requested map. He didn’t dare to look the woman in the eyes when he handed it over. She said nothing to him as she then handed it over to the man on her right. They had a short mumbled discussion with each other before she took off her glasses and turned her attention back to Aidan. Her expression was cold, as was her voice.

“Alright, did you receive the script?”

Aidan just nodded. He didn’t dare to answer by using any words with the enormous lump that had formed inside of his throat. He tried to swallow it, but that only seemed to make it bigger.

“Good, then I’d like you to act out that scene for me with this young man. His name is John.”

John stood up from his chair to shake Aidan’s hand, and Aidan wondered if the man always squeezed that hard when he shook people’s hands. He decided to ignore it as he faced him and started the scene, but the nerves made his voice shaky and he stuttered through his lines more than once. He had a very hard time concentrating when he could see the ice-lady shaking her head disappointingly out of the corner of his eyes, and he even accidentally skipped a large part of the scene when he saw her mumbling with that man on her right again. The only luck the nerve-wrecking situation brought him was that it wasn’t particularly hard for him to fake his tears at the end of the scene, and he quickly wiped his cheeks dry with his shaking hands before the casting lady could realise he was actually crying in front of them.

“Thank you, mister Turner,” was all she said when she handed him back his resume. “Someone will give you a call tomorrow.”

“Yeah, thanks…”

With his shoulders low and his head facing down, he slowly shuffled out of the room. Thank god he wasn’t going home to an empty house, or he’d have drunk every drop of liquor he had stored into the cabinets, no matter if that’d left him passed out or dead.

 

“Aidan?” Dean asked carefully as he heard the front-door being thrown shut with quite some force. He was just about to stand up from the couch to meet him in the hallway when he heard Aidan running up the stairs and slamming the door of their bedroom shut, so he let himself fall back down into the cushions, burying his face in his hands as he sighed. He decided that it would probably be best for both of them to just leave Aidan to himself for a moment. But when he still hadn’t come back down half an hour later, Dean decided to take the risk to climb up the stairs and softly knock on their bedroom door. It remained silent inside.

“Baby?” he then asked carefully; “Babe, can I come in?”

When he still heard no response, he gently opened the door and found Aidan curled up under the blankets of their bed, buried away so that not much more than a few of his black curls were still  visible. His stomach dropped at the pitiful sight and he shuffled forward in order to sit down next to his form on the bed. He pulled the sheets away a bit to be able to run his fingers through his lover’s hair, at which he heard Aidan groaning softly.

“Shall I just make a sandwich for you to eat here?” he offered, but Aidan shook his head. Dean sighed and took off his shirt before crawling in bed behind Aidan, wrapping an arm around his middle and pulling him close to him. Aidan took hold of his hand and squeezed it with so much strength that he could feel the tips of his fingers getting numb. He gave his lover’s bare shoulder a few kisses, but Aidan still didn’t say a word.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, and at that his lover turned around in bed and finally opened his eyes to look at him. Dean was shocked to see that he looked dreadful, his eyes were bloodshot and his bottom lip was bleeding, the imprints of his front teeth still visible through the swelling.

“Oh baby…” he whispered as he gently rubbed the dried-up tears from his cheeks and untangled a few strands of his hair. Aidan just shook his head and rested his chin on top of Dean’s shoulder.

“It was horrible, alright. It was… I was absolutely shit.”

“No, you weren’t shit, Aidan,” Dean tried, but then Aidan suddenly pushed him away forcefully and jumped out of bed. The look of anger and hurt on his lover’s face scared Dean, but he didn’t dare to say a word while he listened to his boyfriend’s shouting.

“ _IT WAS SHIT, ALRIGHT? FUCKING SHIT. THEY HATED MY ACCENT, THEY HATED MY ACTING, THEY HATED ME. THEY LOOKED AT ME LIKE I WAS AN IDIOT, AND I PROBABLY WAS. I COULDN’T FOCUS WITH THEM LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT, I JUST–”_

Aidan chocked on his words as he burst into tears. He let himself slide down the wall until he was sitting on the ground before burying his face in between his knees and wrapping his arms around his legs to make himself as tiny as possible. Dean stared at the scene with his mouth and eyes wide open, at an absolute loss of what to do. He felt frozen and numb as he watched how Aidan sobbed with shaking shoulders, as he saw the fat tears rolling down his lover’s beautiful cheeks and as he heard the sounds of absolute misery escaping from the back of his throat as he cried. Dean couldn’t bear it and crawled out of bed. He slowly walked over to him and sat down onto his knees next to him. He started by gently rubbing Aidan’s shoulder, and when his lover didn’t push him away, he leaned in closer and pulled him into a warm embrace. Thankfully Aidan didn’t fight it and he held him as he buried his face into the crease of his neck, gradually calming down when Dean rubbed circles onto his back and whispered soothing nonsense into his ear.

“Why don’t you take Bat for a little walk, hmm? I’ll make sure there’s something tasty for lunch ready when you’re back.”

Aidan nodded and allowed Dean to dry his cheeks and help him stand back up again. With his arm still wrapped tightly around his shoulders, Dean guided him back downstairs and secured Batman’s collar for him. He gave him a warm, loving kiss before pushing the leather leach into the palm of his hand and wrapping his fingers tightly around it.

“It’ll calm you down, but please promise me you won’t go too far. I don’t want you to get lost again, especially not when you’re so upset, okay?”

Aidan nodded and Dean gave him another kiss before he opened the front door for him, not tearing his eyes away from him until he could see him no more. He then shut the door and rested his forehead against the wood, closing his eyes as he tried to make sense of what on earth had just happened.

 

Aidan was sitting down onto the grass and threw a wooden stick away with as much force as he could, watching absent-mindedly how Batman followed it with rapid speed. Dean was right, he thought. It always did him good to be outside when he was upset, feeling the warmth of the sun on his skin and spending some time alone, or in this case with their dog. Their dog… he had been in Auckland for a little over a month now and it felt as if he had never even left. Dean’s apartment had now become their apartment, Dean’s rusty old car was now their rusty old car. And Batman? No, Bat was theirs from the moment they picked him up from the shelter about a year and a half ago. He was Dean’s dog, yes, but Aidan adopted him as his baby from the moment he had laid his eyes on him. He loved the animal, and Batman was one of the biggest sources of comfort he had here when he was feeling down like today. Maybe it was only a matter of time before New Zealand became home and Dublin was just Dublin. Maybe that would just take a little longer…

Aidan petted Batman’s head when he obediently lay the stick down at his feet, and he gave the wood a little shake before throwing it away again. He sighed and let his fingers run through the freshly cut grass. He loved spending time here in the park, either together with Dean or alone. The park was never very crowded, apart from the uncountable amount of birds that always sang their beautiful songs for him when he was there. The combination of the birds, his beloved dog that was in a way also his best friend and the calm rustling of the trees made him realise that the fuss he had made back home was actually ridiculous. He had been refused roles so many times before and he’d never given much of a damn. So why was this time different? Why did it matter so much that he wasn’t going to get this particular role?

Aidan pondered about that question while he plucked at a few blades of grass. He continued to throw the stick until Batman grew tired of it and curled into a ball next to him, resting his head onto his thigh. Maybe this wasn’t about the job, Aidan realised while he petted the soft fur of his dog’s back. Maybe it was the fact that he wanted to fit in, and he couldn’t. He wanted to fit in with the kiwi’s so badly, get a nice job and live a normal life here, but he was having a really hard time to do so. He was always treated like an outsider, and most of the time the people who did it didn’t even realise it. Aidan had spent time with Dean’s friends from the Johnsons cast a few times since he was here, but he just didn’t fit in. Yes, of course they talked to him and they laughed together and things like that, but every time that Dean left the room, to go to the toilets or to get some more drinks from the kitchen, it would always grow painfully silent.

Aidan shook his head to stop himself from having thoughts like that, because he knew that he was overreacting. He knew that if he’d talk to Dean about this, he would say the very same. So he secured Batman’s leach again and slowly made his way back home. His stomach had begun to rumble anyway, and he didn’t want Dean to become worried if he stayed away for too long.

 

“So, did you enjoy your walk?” Dean asked when Aidan joined him at the dining table to have lunch. He nodded and quickly took a bite out of his sandwich so that he didn’t have to talk. When his boyfriend gave him a curious glance, he quickly looked away. Dean just shook his head and sighed.

“Good, yeah that’s good…”

 

It remained silent until the end of their meals, and Dean brought their plates back to the kitchen before they both dropped down on the couch. Aidan immediately reached over to grab the remote, but Dean stopped him by taking hold of his arm.

“Babe, please talk to me?” he asked with a concerned frown, and although Aidan tried, he just couldn’t refuse the blue eyes that stared back into his like that. So he sighed deeply and snuggled against his lover, who wrapped both of his arms around him protectively.

“I just… I find it difficult. You know, people treat me differently because I’m from Ireland. I feel like I don’t fit in here.”

Dean took a moment to think about a good way to comfort him while he absent-mindedly rubbed circles onto his shoulder with his thumb. Then he smiled and hugged Aidan a bit more tightly.

“Just give it some more time, babe. You’ve only been here for a month, and it just takes time to get the hang of how things go here in New Zealand. And maybe you’re having a bit of a rough time getting a job, big deal, just about every new guy does. There’s absolutely  nothing wrong with that, but I promise you: once you get cast, they’re going to love you and they’ll be constantly calling your agent instead of the other way around. And my parents love you, Brett loves you, and I hope you haven’t forgotten that I love you. You’re going to be alright, I’ll make sure you’ll be alright.”

He felt Aidan nodding and he ran his fingers lovingly through his curly hair.

“I love you, baby. Shall we just go to the pub tonight and have a good time?”

Aidan finally smiled and leaned in for a kiss, slipping his tongue inside when Dean moved closer to him for more.

“Yeah, yeah let’s do that,” he agreed, and he then curled up against Dean again.

Dean was right, Aidan thought as he enjoyed the feeling of his lover’s fingers combing through his hair. And everyone feels like shit sometimes, but having someone around to hold you when you’re sad and to make you feel better, having _Dean_ around… it felt like all those things he worried about just didn’t matter anymore. As long as Dean was there, nothing could hurt him. Dean was all that mattered.

Aidan hummed in pleasure at that reassuring thought and slowly dozed off with his head on top of Dean’s lap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who's left kudos and comments so far. You are too kind <3


	7. Mood Swings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aidan has a hard time. The boys fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not very happy with this chapter for some reason. I'm sorry if some of you find this one boring, but I promise I'll make the next update better xx

 

It was late and Aidan was tired, but he had to stay up. He just had to, because his best friend could come online on Skype any moment now and he hadn’t talked to him for a very long time. Not since leaving Ireland and yes, he felt quite guilty about that. He was lying stomach down on top of the bed surfing on the web while Dean was downstairs to give him some privacy. He checked his phone every five seconds for the time until he heard the familiar bleeping sound.

_Brian is online._

Immediately after the message popped up onto his screen he called his friend and felt a huge relief when he saw his face appearing. God he’d missed him.

“Hi mate!” Brian laughed, and Aidan laughed back.

“Hey Brian, how was your day?”

“My day hasn’t begun yet so I don’t know, how was yours?”

Oh yeah, _of course_ , Aidan thought with slight embarrassment. He was never going to get used to time-zones in his life, ever. He scratched his head before answering.

“Well, it has been pretty shit, actually… That’s kind of why I wanted to Skype with you, I really hope you don’t mind. I’m glad you wanted to chat, I’ve missed you a lot, mate.”

Brian frowned. “Why did you have a bad day, Aid?”

Aidan sighed deeply and took a few moments to think about how he was going to start before he told him everything. About the horrible audition he’d had yesterday and about the indifferent phone-call he received this morning telling him that he ‘ _unfortunately_ was not the candidate they were looking for’. He also told him about how he had been lying on the couch drinking beer all day while Dean was away to shoot some pictures for his portfolio, feeling miserable as shit even though he told himself countless of times that it would all get better in time. It was a huge relief for Aidan to get it all off his chest, but he also told Brian about the beautiful weather here in Auckland, as well as how much he loved spending time outside in the park with Batman and how kind the locals were to him. Apart from the casting lady, obviously.

“So how’s you and Dean?” Brian asked after a while when Aidan failed to bring the topic up himself.

“What do you mean?” Aidan asked confused, catching himself at dozing off for a few seconds, at which he slapped his cheeks a few times.

“What do you think, idiot. Why did you go to New Zealand again?”

“Oh, that. We’re doing great, really. Yeah, it’s all good.”

“Did you catch up with all the lonely nights yet?” he pushed with a wink. Aidan snorted.

“We’re well on our way. Have you found yourself a new lady yet?”

Brian almost chocked on his drink at that question. “ _Fuck_ no, I’m good man, I’m absolutely fine. I haven’t got any time for the ladies, and do you want to know why? I’ve found myself a new job. Quite an awesome job for a change.”

“Oh? What’s that then?”

“I bought myself a pub. An actual pub, and I’m not lying when I say it’s doing pretty good!”

Aidan felt his stomach dropping at that. How much he would have loved to spend his evenings at Brian’s pub with all his mates, laughing at dirty jokes and getting nice and drunk… He quickly pushed those thoughts away as he scratched his head and forced himself to smile.

“That’s great, man! Fantastic!”

Aidan rested his chin sleepily on top of his folded hands as he listened to his friend happily rattling about how much fun it is to be a bartender and promising him free drinks once he came to visit. Just when he was about to check his phone for the time, he heard the door opening and saw Dean shuffling into their bedroom. He gave Aidan a quick kiss and then sat down next to him on top of their bed. Brian greeted him when he appeared into view and Dean smiled and waved back at him. Aidan couldn’t resist the urge to poke at the dimple that appeared onto his lover’s right cheek, at which he received one in the ribs in return.

“It’s getting late, Aidan, and I really want to sleep,” he whispered, and Aidan nodded.

“I’ve got to go, I’m really sorry mate. I promise I’ll be on Skype more often, alright?”

“Okay then, stick to that promise this time Aid! Bye mate, sleep well!”

 

Aidan gave him one last smile before closing his laptop and stripping until he was only wearing his boxers. Dean did the same and together they crawled under the sheets. Aidan crept close to him and rested his cheek onto his lover’s shoulder. Dean then turned his head around to face him.

“Did the chat make you feel a bit better?” Dean asked once Aidan was comfortable. The younger man sighed and looked up to meet Dean’s eyes.

“It helped a bit, I guess.”

Dean leaned in to give him a kiss and then pulled him closer to him. “That’s great, babe. I really hate seeing you sad. You know what, why don’t we take some time off soon and do something fun, hmm?”

Aidan rose his head up from Dean’s chest to give him a questioning look, though the suggestion gave him butterflies in his stomach. “What do you mean, don’t you have work? You always have work.”

Dean smiled warmly. “Maybe that’s exactly why we need to do something fun. I’ll surprise you as soon as I can get the director to give me a few days off. Now sleep tight, love. I promise you’ll feel better in the morning.”

He gave Aidan one last kiss before switching off the lights and closing his eyes, gently petting his lover’s back until they were both fast asleep.

 

_‘I’m sorry, mister Turner, but I’m afraid you’re not the man we are looking for.’_

_‘We miss you, mate, we never hear anything from you anymore. Have you forgotten about us?’_

_‘You’re being very grumpy lately, Aidan. Aren’t you glad we’re back together again?’_

_‘You said you’d be on Skype every Sunday, mate. Do you not care about us anymore?’_

_‘How could you not make it through that audition, Aidan? You were in the Hobbit for heaven’s sake!’_

_‘Babe, you need to just let it go. It’s one audition, there’s no need to make such a fuss about it.’_

_‘Son, you need to give your mother a call. You promised us you’d call.’_

_‘Interesting accent you’ve got there, mister Turn–”_

 

“ _SHUT UP!_ ” Aidan shouted angrily, and Dean yelped when he was startled awake. He quickly switched on a light to find his lover sitting upright in bed, covered in sweat and breathing heavily. Dean reached out a hand to lay it onto his bare shoulder, but Aidan forcefully slapped it away with a shaking hand before it even touched his skin.

“I need to take a walk,” he said with a tremulous voice, and he quickly climbed out of the bed before Dean got the chance to stop him. He worked himself into some sweatpants and a hoodie and left the room.

“Babe, it’s four in the morning!” Dean called after him in confusion, but Aidan ignored him and a few moments later he heard the front door being thrown shut. He sighed and let his head fall back into the pillows, pinching the bridge of his nose as he frowned. He then reached over to take his phone from the nightstand.

_Love, please come home. Auckland can be dangerous at night._

He sent the message in the hope that Aidan would listen to him and come back, but then he heard his lover’s phone vibrating from underneath his pillow. _Fuck_. So Dean rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and pushed himself out of bed to head to the living room, where he brewed himself some extra strong coffee. He took it with him to the couch and took small sips of the hot liquid while he stared into the nothingness, focussing on hearing the sound of footsteps or the rattling of keys to indicate that Aidan was back home. But he didn’t hear anything apart from the low buzzing of the freezer and the sound of his own breathing, so he put his empty cup down on the floor and shifted positions so that he was lying stomach-down onto the couch. His eyelids became more and more heavy despite the coffee and he hardly realized it when he dozed off with his head resting on top of the armrest in a painful angle.

 

When Aidan came home only twenty minutes after he’d left, he found Dean fast asleep on the couch. He looked uncomfortable and a nauseous guilt hit him hard when he slowly walked closer towards his unconscious form. He kneeled down in front of him and ran his fingers gently through his short curls. Dean flinched slightly when he woke up.

“Come back to bed?” Aidan pleaded softly, and he intertwined his fingers with Dean’s. His lover nodded and silently followed him upstairs, tightening his grip on his hand with every step they took.

 

Once they were back in bed, Aidan crawled as close to Dean as he could and he heard the older man sighing as he buried his face into his neck. He held his boyfriend firmly and after a few moments of silence, he whispered:

“Please, Aidan. Please don’t do things like this anymore. You’re going to give me a heart-attack one day.”

Aidan sighed guiltily and kissed his lover multiple times in his neck. “I’m really sorry, babe. I promise I won’t…”

Dean accepted his apology and wrapped his arms tightly around the Irishman. He held him close, enjoying how the warmth of his breath against his skin gradually calmed him down. He kissed him lovingly on top of his beautiful, curly hair.

“Try to get some sleep now, wake me up if you need me. You know I’m here for you.”

Aidan nodded watched how his lover slowly fell into a deep sleep, and he clung to his body tightly as he tried his best to clear his mind and get some more rest himself.

 

At six o’clock the next morning, Dean awoke feeling like he hadn’t slept at all. The memory of what had happened that night hit him hard, and just when he thought he couldn’t possibly feel more shit than he already did, he turned around to find Aidan’s side of the bed to be empty.

“Oh fuck no…” he mumbled desperately and he immediately jumped out of bed and stormed down the stairs.

“ _AIDAN!_ ” he yelled, blinded by a sickening panic when he saw visions of Aidan all alone on the streets in the middle of the night, Aidan getting mercilessly beaten up by a drunk, Aidan being left to die on the sidewalk; crying, mortally wounded, bleeding uncontrollably…

He forcefully threw the door to the living room open, only to find his lover standing in the kitchen wearing nothing more than his boxers and staring at him with wide eyes and his mouth slightly open. Dean was absolutely speechless for a moment, and he tried his very best to calm down before he’d burst into tears right there. Or throw a tantrum and break his nose. He inhaled and exhaled deeply before he slowly walked up to Aidan with his arms crossed, giving him a stern look. His lover stared sheepishly back at him.

“Are you _ever_ going to stop scaring the fucking shit out of me, Aidan Turner?” he asked grumpily before giving up on his attempt to be cross with him and pulling his lover close to his chest into a tight hug, too relieved to find him safe and at home to be anything even close to angry at him.

“What do you mean? I’m making us something special for breakfast, how is that scary?” Aidan asked confused, and Dean chuckled softly at his innocentness. He tightened his grip on the taller man’s middle, who groaned a bit at the pressure.

“No it’s not, you’re right. I’m sorry babe. I’m, eh… I need to take a shower.”

Aidan gave him a quick kiss and slapped Dean’s butt when he turned around to walk away. “Don’t make it long, I’m almost done cooking!”

Dean turned his head around to stick out his tongue at him before leaving the room.

 

Approximately an hour after finishing breakfast, Dean kissed Aidan goodbye at the doorway and promised him he’d be home as early as he was allowed before leaving for work. He was  currently filming a small television movie, in which he was given one of the leading roles. He played the part of a wealthy businessman named Cedric who falls hopelessly in love with his beautiful maid. A terrible cliché, Dean knew that all too well, but he was offered a payment that only a fool would have refused. While his boyfriend was at work earning the money to pay their rent, Aidan spent the morning slumbering lazily on the couch, convincing himself that he was happy and doing great although deep down inside, he felt a painful coldness that not even his Dean was able to warm up. Even his afternoon walk with Batman did not help to get rid of that nasty lingering feeling of sadness, so when he came back home an hour later, he decided to give up on the battle and went upstairs where he crawled into bed. He closed the blinds and played angry birds on his phone until the battery died out, and although he knew that it shouldn’t take much more than an hour before Dean would be home, he curled into a ball under the blankets and allowed himself to asleep, finally able to escaping from his depressing thoughts and feelings.

Someone shaking his shoulder woke him up from his nap and he grumpily opened his eyes a little bit to face a concerned looking Dean. _Oh for fuck’s sake._

Aidan felt a cloud of irritation welling up inside him when his boyfriend sat down next to him on the bed, touching his shoulder with his hand and therefore poking through his comfort bubble without any permission. He groaned softly when he even began to talk.  

“Babe, are you alright?” Dean asked with a tone of care that for some reason Aidan just couldn’t stand. So he muttered that he was fine while he worked himself out of the bed and made his way towards the door. Dean quickly followed him and grabbed his arm, forcing him to listen while he continued his lecture.

“Are you sure babe? This is not the first time I’ve found you already in bed when I get home. What is wrong with you, Aidan? You almost seem depressed.”

Aidan angrily pulled his arm out of Dean’s grip and turned around to face him. Both of his hands were curled up into fists, and at that gesture Dean immediately stumbled backwards a few steps. His expression had morphed from concerned into scared, but somehow that did absolutely nothing to Aidan. His eyes pierced straight through it, blinded by the pain and jealousy that had taunted him all day.

“I am not. _Fucking_. Depressed.”

“Babe, I want to help you if you’d just –”

“ _STOP FUCKING CALLING ME ‘BABE’!_ I am fine and I don’t need your successful little arse taking care of me all the time! Jesus bloody Christ, I need to take a goddamn shower.”

He stormed out of the room towards the bathroom upstairs, where he slammed the door shut with enough force to make the floor vibrate. Dean sighed desperately and ran his hands through his hair. He stood frozen like that for almost five minutes, thinking of countless of ways to try and get his lover to cheer up a bit. He decided in the end to stop by the supermarket to buy some fresh ingredients for lasagne, Aidan’s most favourite comfort food, and a six-pack of his favourite brand of beer. When he got back home a little over half an hour later, Aidan was not in the living room, so he went straight into the kitchen and opened a bottle of beer for himself to drink his guilt away while he worked on making their dinner. The time he had to wait while the food was in the oven he spent watching Family Guy on TV and when the oven timer finally began to beep, he set the table as cosily as he could and placed the hot dish on a rubber mat in the middle. He then went upstairs and gently knocked onto their bedroom door, speaking with a tone that was nearly begging:

“I made something tasty for dinner, sweetheart. Are you coming downstairs, please?”

He heard the bed creaking softly and the muffled sound of footsteps before the door opened a little bit. Aidan looked at him sadly with his big, brown eyes. The Irishman doubted for a few moments before he carefully opened his arms. Dean smiled and sighed deeply in relief, embracing his lover tightly whilst standing on the tips of his toes so that he was able to rest his chin on top of the taller man’s shoulder. They stood like that in silence for a few minutes before Dean whispered into his ear: “Let’s go downstairs. I didn’t spend an hour in the kitchen so that we can let it let it turn cold.”

Aidan chuckled softly at that and took hold of his hand. Together they left the bedroom and went downstairs.

 

The rest of the evening they spent on the couch watching TV together. They didn’t say very much, but they didn’t really need to. Dean knew very well that Aidan was having a hard time adjusting to his new life here in Auckland, and Aidan knew that Dean was there for him to help him through the tougher days like this one. They knew from each other what they needed most right now, and they knew that the other was the only one that could provide it: love and comfort.

It was almost midnight when Dean gently shook Aidan awake and suggested to go to bed. He was expected on set very early the next day and he knew he’d have to deliver some really good work in order to be able to beg the director into giving him a week off. He knew exactly what he needed to do to help Aidan with his sadness, and the thought of surprising him with it made him chuckle with excitement. So with that happy prospection on his mind he helped his sleepy boyfriend to get off the couch and into bed, where the younger man cuddled him and placed his head comfortably on top of his chest. Dean held him tightly as his lover was lulled to sleep by the soft thumping of his heart, running his fingers through his dark curls and pressing multiple kisses onto his brow. It was all going to be alright, he assured himself as he yawned and closed his own eyes. He’d make sure that everything would be alright.

 


	8. A Pleasant Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Aidan take a trip to Sydney.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was seriously convinced that I wasn't going to get this update done today like I planned but you know what, I spent all day writing to finish it, because I really didn't want to keep you waiting. So I hope you like it. And yes I know that I planned to make 2500 word updates and that this one is definately much longer. Oops I did it again. Hooray right?
> 
> Thanks for all the lovely comments so far, I couldn't have done it without you! <3
> 
> (By the way: From Monday 18/8 to Thursday 21/8 I have the first of two introduction weeks at the university where I will be studying for the next four years or so. I will be studying Psychology in Amsterdam, if anyone is interested. I know that chapter 9 should be up by Tuesday but I just can't reach that deadline. Expect it around Monday 25th of August. I'm really really really sorry but I won't be home so I can't write :c xxx)

 

It was the twentieth of January when Dean came home from work late in the afternoon carrying the most beautiful bouquet of flowers that the flower shop could sell him. It had every flower and every colour that he knew his Aidan loved: yellow tulips, purple strands of lavender, beautiful blue daisies and many more, all smelling equally sweet and fresh. In his free hand he carried a small bag which contained a fine bottle of chardonnay and their favourite take-away. He had to use his elbow to ring the doorbell of their apartment because he was unable to unlock the door himself. When no one opened, he rang the bell a few more times until he finally heard the sound of footsteps and the turning of the lock.

“Are you too lazy to use your keys too now or have you –”

Aidan stopped muttering abruptly when he took in the scene in front of him. His mouth fell open slightly and he speechlessly accepted the bouquet of flowers and allowed Dean to press a warm kiss onto his lips.

“Come, I’ve brought Chinese,” his lover said joyfully and he took his lover’s hand to pull him along with him towards the living room. Aidan followed him stunned.

“What is this all about? Why are you –”

“Shh! It’s a surprise, you’ll see. Now let’s go and have dinner.”

Dean set the table for two and poured them both a generous glass of wine before sitting down opposite of Aidan. He heard his lover out about his day, who said he’d sent his resume to multiple acting and even modelling agencies that morning and had already received two phone calls already from companies that were interested in working with him. He also told him about his walk with Batman that afternoon and how beautiful the weather was, and he showed him a few pictures on his cell phone that he had taken that day. As soon as Aidan had told Dean all about his day and both their plates were as empty as they would be able to make them, Dean thought this was the right moment to tell his love about his surprise. Because yes, Dean had a surprise for him, a very big one in fact, and the nerves about telling him about it tickled in his stomach. So he cleared the table from the dirty dishes and poured them both another glass of wine before leaning over the table and taking hold of the Irishman’s hands. He sighed and smiled at him, and Aidan looked back with a curious smirk.

“Babe, remember last week when I promised you we’d do something fun soon?”

Aidan’s face broke into a sunny smile and he laughed warmly. “Yes, yes I do. What about it?”

Dean grinned and then retrieved an envelope from the bag that still stood underneath the table. He handed it over to Aidan, who took it with a questioning look. Dean smiled nervously and managed to say: “Just open it.”

Aidan shrugged and then ripped the envelope open to find a card inside. It had a picture of a sunset on it and it was engraved with the words ‘ _I Love You’_. Aidan broke into a sweet and beautiful laugh and looked at Dean with beaming eyes. “That’s very romantic, Dean.”

Dean scratched his chin nervously as he waited for Aidan to open the card and when he did, his smile made way for an expression of surprise and astonishment. Because what he found inside was a small handwritten message from Dean which said him how much he loved him, but more importantly it contained two plane tickets with the destination of:

“S-Sydney…”

Aidan looked up from the card to Dean with big, watery eyes, and his bottom lip was trembling slightly as he stumbled: “I-I don’t know w-what to say...”

Dean smiled and leaned forward to give his lover a kiss. He then caressed his cheek and wiped away an escaped tear. “Say you’ll come with me?”

“Y-Yes, yes of course I will!” Aidan said and he then stood up from his chair to give Dean a rib-crushing hug, laughing joyously at the prospect of a holiday together with Dean in Australia. After a few moments Dean released him with a firm pat on his shoulder.

“Well what are you waiting for? Go pack, we leave tomorrow!”

“You’re fucking kidding me.” Aidan’s expression dropped and he quickly grabbed the tickets from the table again. It indeed said _January 21, 09:40_. He stared at Dean in disbelief, but his lover just nodded and smiled. “Holy shit, that _is_ tomorrow!”

He laughed happily and gave Dean a few teary kisses before storming upstairs, letting out all kinds of excited and happy noises on his way to their bedroom that made Dean’s heart swell up with affection. Even though the trip would probably cost him all his earnings from the past few months, his lover’s reaction was worth every single dollar.

 

So that’s how Dean and Aidan ended up in an Air New Zealand aircraft the next morning on their way to Sydney, Australia. Aidan hadn’t stopped smiling since the night before and he was bouncing up and down his seat while he pointed at all kinds of things that he could see through the small plane window, gasping and listening eagerly at Dean when he told him stories about the animals that lived there and how very beautiful Australia was in the summer. The three and a half hours of traveling went by very quickly and before they knew it, they were dropped off at a taxi-stop near the hotel and were walking towards the entrance with their trollies. Aidan suddenly stopped walking when the building came into view, and he stared at it in disbelief.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he gasped, and Dean winked at him and wrapped an arm around his neck to pull him a bit closer. Aidan pointed at the hotel’s name that stood in shining letters above the entrance. ‘ _Four Seasons Hotel_ ’, it said. “Is this seriously the place where we’re going to stay?”

“It is! I couldn’t find a hotel that seemed more relaxing than this one, so if we don’t arrive back home next week feeling reborn then I don’t know how we ever could.”

He smiled at Aidan’s open mouth and took hold of his hand to lead him inside. They received the key to their room and then took a very fancy elevator to the fourth floor. They walked through a beautifully decorated hallway until they reached their room. They opened it and stepped inside and although Dean had seen many pictures of the interior on the website where he’d booked their room, he was still as astounded as Aidan was about what he found inside. Their room was big, very big and it was decorated with beautiful and expensive looking furniture. The bed looked like it could belong to a king and the television that hung on the wall was bigger than the one they had back at home. Just when Dean threw himself on top of the freshly made bed, which sheets smelled wonderfully fresh, he heard Aidan’s laughter coming from the bathroom. He frowned and climbed out of the bed to walk over to the small room.

“There’s a fucking bubble bath in here! And is that a steam-shower? Dean, babe, this must have cost you a fortune!”

When Dean stepped inside, Aidan immediately pulled his lover into an amorous hug, and Dean chuckled when he felt Aidan’s fingers pulling at the bottom his t-shirt. He kissed him passionately while he rose his arms to give Aidan better access and deepened their contact when Aidan worked his own shirt off too. Dean moaned and bit at Aidan’s lip when he pushed him out of the bathroom and threw him on top of the bed, and they hungrily devoured each other in kisses as pieces of clothes were thrown around the room until they were both naked and panting. Dean laughed in between his moans when Aidan started trailing kisses downwards, his making length harder quickly, and he worked his hands over his lover’s beautiful and muscular back.

“Someone’s excited,” he sniggered, but then Aidan suddenly gave his half-hard cock a rough pull which cut off his talking immediately with a chocked groan. His lover then claimed his mouth with another desperate and wet kiss, and he pierced through him with his brown eyes when he broke it.

“We haven’t had sex for more –” Aidan gave Dean’s cock another firm squeeze, enjoying how his lover panted and groaned for more; “than a _fucking_ week.”

Dean was just about to open his mouth to respond when Aidan stuck two fingers inside it, shutting him up while he continued to pleasure him with his other hand. “So yes, I am indeed excited.”

He felt Dean’s nails scratching down his back, leaving behind a nice burn, and he removed his fingers and claimed his lover’s mouth once more in a messy kiss. He stilled his hand around Dean’s now rock-hard erection and ignored his complaints when he got up from the bed to search for a bottle of lube in their baggage. When he found it, he coated his two already wet fingers with a generous amount of it and pushed them into his lover’s warmth without any warning, causing Dean to buck up his hips and moan loudly. Aidan grinned and build up a speed, watching how Dean panted, squirmed and released all kinds of beautiful sounds for him. He wondered if the walls were thin enough for someone to be able to hear them having sex, and his cock twitched at the thought of someone catching them in the heat of the moment. He grinned at Dean’s shouting when he hit his lover’s prostate and when he added a third finger, he reached the point where he had him begging. And that was exactly how he liked him the most.

“Babe, _babe_ , please I’m–” Aidan changed his angle suddenly and Dean groaned loudly. “I-I’m ready, _oh God_ , please Aid.”

Aidan pulled his fingers out and used them to cover his almost painfully hard erection with lube. He took some time to position himself and leaned forward to give Dean a deep kiss, not breaking it when he very slowly entered his lover. Dean moaned in his mouth and bit his lower lip when he started a steady pace, slowly building up the speed until they were both panting and groaning. Their lack of sex was his fault, Aidan knew very well that him being a grumpy arse all the time did not do their sex-life any good, so he made sure that he moved in exactly the way that he knew his lover liked and he pressed many kisses onto just the right spots in his neck. Dean pulled at his hair and dug his fingers into the flesh of his shoulders.

“ _You close_?” he asked in between his heavy breaths, and Aidan only groaned in reply as he quickened his thrusts and wrapped his right hand around Dean’s leaking cock, spreading the pre-come around the tip and pulling it with the same rhythm of his movements. He watched how his lover’s eyes squeezed shut and his lips formed his name as he lost it, shuddering through his orgasm and spilling his load onto both their stomachs. That was all it took for him to burst as well, and he groaned while he filled his lover with his seed. When he was completely done, he pulled out and wrapped his arms tightly around Dean’s torso, kissing him passionately on the mouth and then running his fingers through his lover’s blond curls. He grinned when the older man closed his eyes with pleasure and shuddered when his fingers danced over his head.

“Do you need a nap?” he whispered, and he grinned when Dean mumbling something inaudible. So he took that as a yes and continued scratching his skull feather-lightly until he knew that his lover was fast asleep. He then set an alarm on his phone for lunchtime and wrapped himself protectively around Dean’s body to settle for a nice nap himself.

 

A little over an hour later, Aidan’s alarm went off and they both got themselves ready to head into town. They took a long, steamy shower and had a lot of fun trying out the many different soap bottles that stood inside the cabin. When they eventually found the motivation to get out, they quickly got dressed and laughed a lot together while trying their best to hide the evidence of what had happened to the bed that was once so beautifully made. They then left the hotel and took a city bus to the centre, where they enjoyed walking around with the warmth of the sun on their skins and searched for a nice place to have lunch. They ended up in a beautiful little bistro, where they both had a delicious sandwich along with a glass of fresh citrus juice. Dean told Aidan all about his experiences in Sydney while they ate, which quickly had him bouncing up and down in his seat to actually see the city.

So after lunch, Dean and Aidan boarded the sightseeing bus. While they drove around the city, Aidan gasped and pointed at many the beautiful buildings and Dean used his camera to shoot countless amounts of pictures (most of them from his boyfriend). It was a beautiful day and they hopped off the bus a few times to just walk around a bit and admire the beauty of the city. They walked down the sidewalks hand in hand, and it seemed to Dean that Aidan had completely forgotten about all of his worries as they laughed and chatted. After two hours, they decided to hop on the bus again and after a few stops they arrived in front of an art museum. Dean successfully begged Aidan into going inside with him, and while he took his time admiring the many beautiful pictures and paintings, Aidan got so bored that he started counting the amount of ceiling tiles, muttering grumpily when Dean laughed at him for painfully walking into a wall.

They completed their successful first day by eating at a small restaurant in the city centre. They had just enjoyed two delicious meals, having shared many bites from each other’s plates, and Aidan was enjoying a small moment staring into Dean’s beautiful blue eyes when it suddenly struck him how very much he loved that man sitting opposite of him. He forgot about his dessert as he melted into his lover’s dimpled smile and had to sniff deeply to prevent himself from getting teary. It hit him how very blessed he was to have a boyfriend that took him on a holiday because he was being a grumpy arsehole, a boyfriend who loved him despite his mood-swings and who still held him and comforted him when he was acting like a jealous child. So he reached out to take hold of Dean’s hands and gave them a soft squeeze. He shyly averted his gaze and sighed deeply.

“I’m sorry I’ve been such a terrible arse lately. I really should have known better and not act like a child...”

He sighed again and smiled weakly when Dean gave his hands a little squeeze. “I love you so much, Dean. I love you with all my heart, even when I act like I don’t...”

Dean leaned forward to give Aidan a loving kiss on his mouth, still holding his hands and rubbing small circles onto his knuckles with his thumbs. He smiled warmly when he broke the kiss. “You know I could never be angry with you, Aid. I understand this is hard for you and I knew it would be difficult in the beginning. But we’ll work it out, and we’ll find a way. We always find a way, don’t we?”

Aidan nodded and wiped away a stray tear from his cheek. Dean petted his cheek and grinned when his lover leaned into the touch. “I love you too, baby. Now finish your ice-cream before it melts.”

He gave him one last kiss before sitting back in his chair, and they both finished their desserts with smiles on their faces.

 

The remaining week flew by in a blink of the eye. The second day they spent wandering around the city and taking many pictures of beautiful buildings and astonishing views. They were sometimes recognised by locals and tourists, who would then ask them for an autograph or a picture and tell them more about the city or where they came from themselves. After a lovely dinner in a small Italian restaurant in the centre that had some very good reviews, Dean took Aidan to the Opera House after dinner where they watched a spectacular show that didn’t end before midnight. It was an even better day than the first one, and they fell asleep almost immediately after lying down on top of the bed.

On their third day in Sydney, they both felt like their feet needed some rest after all the walking they had done during the past two days. That’s why they decided to spend the day slumbering in their hotel room, pretty much doing nothing apart from having (a lot of) sex, taking a hot bubble-bath every few hours and watching shitty programs on TV. They had a delicious breakfast, lunch ánd dinner in the hotel restaurant and ended up spending the rest of their evening relaxing in the sauna, Jacuzzi and swimming pool in the wellness centre on the top floor of the hotel.

On the fourth day they took the ferry to visit the Taronga Zoo, which is the biggest zoo in Sydney. They stayed in the zoo from opening time to closing time, and the only reason for them to visit the park was the fact that they could shamelessly behave like children again for the few hours that they were there, and they spent more time laughing together and taking silly photographs of each other than actually watching the animals and learning something. Although, one thing was learned that day, and that was that for some reason Aidan turned out to be terribly afraid of flamingos.

Their fifth day in Australia they spent sunbathing and surfing (or let’s say: trying to surf) on the Bondi beach. This turned out to have been a stupid idea, because it was so hot and sunny that day that despite using lots of sunscreen, Dean ended up getting so sunburnt that Aidan had to spend the rest of the day and evening tending to his burnt back. He didn’t really mind doing so, though, because when eventually Dean was relieved of most of the pain, the roles were reversed and his reward for his care involved a full-body massage with of course a very happy ending.

The sixth day they spent sightseeing again, revisiting their most favourite spots and buildings in Sydney and eating at the restaurants they loved the most. And when at the end of the day their feet were too tired to walk anymore, they decided to just spend the few hours until dinner drinking a few beers at a small but cosy looking café. They had saved the best for last, because they had an amazing dinner at The Apollo and almost had to roll themselves back to the hotel because they’d eaten so much food. But then the seventh and last day of their holiday arrived, whether they wanted it or not, and they reluctantly spent the morning packing all their belongings.

 

“Thank you so much for this wonderful week,” Aidan said after they’d double checked their hotel room to make sure they wouldn’t accidentally leave something behind. He pulled Dean into an embrace and kissed him on the lips, caressing the back of his head and his neck in the process.

“You’re welcome, babe.  We really needed it, didn’t we?” Dean asked, taking Aidan’s hand as they left the room to check out of the hotel. Aidan smiled happily and took a deep breath of the fresh Australian air when they stepped outside. God knows how much he was going to miss being here.

“Promise me this won’t be the first and last time we went to Sydney together?” Aidan asked with his best puppy face, which had Dean laughing and shaking his head.

“I promise babe,” he then said, and he gave him a kiss before taking his hand to lead him towards the taxi that was already waiting for them to take them back to the airport. They spent the ride leaning closely against each other, Dean’s head resting on top of Aidan’s shoulder and their fingers intertwined while they enjoyed their final hours together in Sydney in comfortable silence.

They arrived at the airport two hours early, so they spent the time waiting for their flight by having lunch and a coffee at Starbucks and buying unnecessary amounts of sweets to eat during the flight. Aidan ended up eating so much candy that during the final hour of their flight, he ended up complaining almost non-stop about having stomach-ache. That eventually drove Dean so mad that he ended up giving Aidan a sleeping pill to help him relax. That pill then unfortunately worked so well that it took him almost five minutes to get him to wake up once they’d landed, and another five minutes when their taxi stopped in front of their apartment.

When they were back inside, he laid his lover down on the couch to let him sleep until dinner while he spent the meantime searching through their pictures, picking out the best ones for them to put into a photo album and also editing two photos of Sydney and a selfie of him and Aidan in the zoo to put on Instagram for their fans. It always warmed his heart to read their positive reactions, they had been very supportive of their relationship ever since the beginning and to thank them for it, he would post a picture of them together every once in a while. So once he was done with that, he went to the kitchen to search through their cabinets to find something edible for dinner. He decided on some pasta with tomato sauce and he absent-mindedly started heating up a pan with water. He was just reading the label to find out how long the pasta needed to be cooked when his phone went off. He took the device out of the pocket of his jeans to meet an unknown number calling him. So he shrugged and leaned with his back against the kitchen counter when he answered the call.

“This is Dean O’Gorman speaking?”

_“Good evening, mister O’Gorman. This is Susanna Falcon speaking, one of the producers from Steven Spielberg’s Utopia. Am I calling at an inconvenient time?”_

Dean’s mouth dropped open and he almost had a heart-attack when he realised what this phone call could be about, and he quickly turned off the gas and sat down on a kitchen chair, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down before he dared to speak again.

 “N-no, most certainly not.”

_“Good! I’d like to congratulate you, mister O’Gorman. You were mister Spielberg’s personal favourite to play the part of Samuel Frost. He was very impressed by your audition and your other work and is eager to meet you at your earliest convenience.”_

Dean felt so numb from hearing the news that the rest of the conversation with the lady went by in a haze. He stared into the nothingness for a good five minutes after he’d hung up, chewing his bottom lip and working his hands through his hair.

 _I just received a part in a Spielberg movie_ , he slowly realised with a mixed feeling of indescribable happiness and sickening fear, and he very carefully stood up from the chair and walked back towards the kitchen. He turned on the gas again and continued cooking with shaking hands. Flashes of reading his name in big newspapers and even crazier ones like receiving an Academy award for ‘best supporting actor’ made him feel slightly light-headed, but one shocking thought hit him even harder:   _How the fuck am I going to tell Aidan?_

It was then that he heard Aidan yawning from the living room and the sound of his footsteps coming towards the kitchen.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look, it's a cliffhanger. Whoever's first may kill me.


	9. The Black Dog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More fights. Aidan breaks down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! c:
> 
> Thank you so much for waiting! I hope you'll like this chapter, it was written in a bit of a rush because I really wanted to get this chapter up today like I promised. Since we're almost at the climax of the story (sorry guys, I'm afraid I'm not done torturing the boys yet), I'm going to spend more time on writing the chapters because I want them to be better than they are right now. My English vocabulary is quite small as you may have noticed and I'm groing tired of having to use the same words over and over again, so if I spend a bit more time on that, the next chapters should be nicer to read. It would be great to have an English speaking beta reader to help me a bit with that, but I have no idea where to find one that's going to be interested in beta-ing RPF... c:  
> So if any of you know one (or is one?) that has the time and would like to help me out, please let me know!
> 
> I hope you're still enjoying this story anyway!
> 
> Love,
> 
> Eá <3

 

“Who was that, babe?”

Dean froze at the sudden question and he slowly turned around to find a curious looking Aidan. He swallowed away the lump in his throat and took a few deep breaths to try to get his heart-rate to go down a bit before he answered.  

“T-that? Oh, ha-ha, oh no nothing! That was just, eh, it was just s-someone, you know? Yeah, yeah it was someone.”

Aidan frowned and was silent for a few seconds before he suddenly burst out laughing, bending over to lean against the kitchen counter to prevent himself from falling onto the stone floor. Dean opened his mouth slightly in shock and had absolutely no idea what to do next, so he just stared at the scene and waited for Aidan to stop laughing and start talking again. After a few moments, his lover finally stopped, wiped a tear away from the corner of his right eye and kissed him on the cheek.

“Of course it was _someone_ , Deano, I’m not an idiot. Was it Emmett? Or Ben? Or no, no was it Jared? God we really haven’t hung out with them for a long time, have we? We should make plans to have a beer sometime soon. Yes, yes we should! Or did you just do that? Really? When are we going? What time? I should get dressed, oh, and I need to take a shower, my hair is a complete mess. I’ll be right back!”

Aidan gave him a quick peck and then sprinted out of the room, leaving Dean behind in the kitchen at an absolute loss of what to do. He sunk down onto the cold, stone floor and buried his face into his hands. He paid no attention to the over-boiling pan of pasta or his hands that had begun to shake uncontrollably. He was scared, scared that this could be too much for Aidan, that this would be the thing that would tear them apart. It could result into Aidan moving back to Ireland and continue their long-distance relationship, or even worse, it could lead to them breaking up altogether. Those possible prospects made Dean feel sick. He felt incredibly guilty about getting job offers such as this one while Aidan was currently unemployed and desperately seeking for a proper job. There were multiple things he could do, he figured: taking the part and in some way convince Aidan that it was only a small film and that it meant absolutely nothing to him (which would of course be a lie), taking the part and somehow explain to Aidan that this could very well be the highlight of his entire career and hope for a good reaction, or simply giving up on the part and never bring the topic up again.

He was just about to go with the final option when the door to the living room softly creaked open and Aidan shuffled inside. He hadn’t even realised that he had been crying when Aidan kneeled down next to him and wiped his cheeks dry with his hands. He pouted when he looked at him, and Dean just couldn’t bear that expression and buried his face into the crease of Aidan’s neck, who froze at first but then wrapped his arms tightly around him. Aidan held him close to his chest like that, resting his chin on top of his lover’s head.

“It wasn’t Emmett who called, was it?” he mumbled, and Dean nodded, still clenching to Aidan’s shoulders tightly.

“Nor was it Ben, or Jared, right?”

Again, Dean nodded, and Aidan sighed before releasing him and looking him into the eyes.

“Who was it then?”

Dean looked down at the ground and tried one last time to change the topic: “The water’s boiling over, maybe we should just order some pizza –”

“Don’t change the subject, Dean,” Aidan warned as he walked over to the cooker and turned off the gas. “Why can’t you just tell me? Oh wait, shit… shit I’m sorry man.”

Aidan looked at Dean with wide eyes, who stared back confused. “Someone didn’t die, did they? Oh God Dean I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean –”

“No, nobody died! Christ Aidan, calm down. Just, just listen. Maybe we should take a walk, yes? We need to talk, and not the talk-talk, just… talk. Why don’t you go get Batman back from the neighbours? Don’t forget to pay them, though. I promised them a hundred dollars to watch him, you take it out of my wallet, it’s in my backpack. I’ll quickly clean up the kitchen and meet you outside. Is that okay?”

He pulled Aidan into an embrace before he had a chance to reply and kissed him a few times onto his lips. “Go, I’ll meet you in a sec.”

He pushed Aidan towards the front door with Batman’s leach and then quickly went back to the kitchen when his boyfriend was outside. There, he absent-mindedly started to wipe away all the excess water while his brain worked in overdrive to find a way to tell Aidan that he had to fly to America for a few months to shoot a multi-million dollar drama with Steven Spielberg. _Fuck, that makes it sound even worse_ , he thought angrily and he slammed the wet cloth across the room, hitting and breaking a vase in the process. He gave up and just left the apartment to wait for Aidan, praying that everything would turn out to be okay.

 

“So, a Spielberg movie,” Aidan mumbled softly, and Dean nodded. They were sitting closely against each other on a park bench, watching the sunset together while Batman ran around over the freshly cut grass. Dean had his arm wrapped tightly around Aidan’s shoulder the whole time when he told his lover about the movie, and it had been silent for almost ten minutes before Aidan finally spoke.

“How the fuck did you even do that?”

Dean sighed and tightened the grip of his hand on his lover’s shoulder a bit. “It was months ago, it was before you even mentioned your decision to move. My agent had called me and she suggested I do a video audition for a part in Spielberg’s new drama. It was nothing back then, the initial goal was to get a part with lines, even if it was only one word. I honestly never thought I would actually get such a big one as this. It’s not a leading role, but it’s still pretty big…”

Dean carefully turned his face to look at Aidan, but his lover was staring in front of him and didn’t even blink.

“How do you, you know, how do you feel about that?” he asked softly. Aidan shrugged, and still didn’t look at him when he answered.

“I don’t know, I’m really happy for you and all but it does mean that we’ll have to live away from each other _again_. I moved half the world away from home to live together with you and then you leave again. It kind of makes me sad…”

His voice cracked at that last word, and he sighed deeply before he finally faced Dean. The older man felt defeated when he saw his lover’s teary eyes, and it took him a lot of effort not to break down himself.

“I could just call them back and refuse the part and –”

“No! No, are you crazy? You really shouldn’t. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, you’d have to be completely mental not to take it! We can Skype, o-or call, like we did before. Don’t worry about me, I’ll survive, I m-mean I must have received some emails while we were away, f-from the c-companies I c-called, remember? I haven’t checked yet, b-but I’m sure they’re looking at it. M-maybe they’ll call tomorrow and I’ll f-finally get a chance as well…”

“Oh baby…”

Dean could almost hear his heart breaking when Aidan started crying, burying his face into his hands to hide his face away from his boyfriend. Dean doubted for a few seconds, but then he tried to wrap both of his arms around his lover’s shaking shoulders. He wanted to hold him so badly, he wished he could make up for the pain and grief he’d caused him, but Aidan pushed his hands away and angrily wiped his face dry.

“You go home, just… just go. I’ll be right behind you,” he said grumpily and he then took Batman’s leach and stood up from the bench to find their dog. He stormed off without looking back, leaving Dean behind alone.

“Yeah, yeah I’ll see you at home,” Dean mumbled to himself as he watched Aidan disappear, and he was surprised he didn’t get sick from the guilt while he made his way back to their apartment.

 

“When will you leave?”

Dean and Aidan were lying in bed, and Dean pulled Aidan into an embrace and kissed him gently on the top of his head. He began to softly massage his lover’s head, untangling a few curls as he played with his hair. They hadn’t talked at all since Aidan came back from the park almost an hour after Dean had gotten home himself. They’d had dinner in silence and Dean had been watching TV by himself while Aidan was upstairs Skyping with his parents. Aidan was already in bed when Dean crawled in next to him, and the older man had been sure the younger man was already asleep, or purposely pretending to be, until he heard him whisper softly. Aidan placed his head on Dean’s chest and closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation of his lover’s fingers dancing on his skull.  

“Next month, I think,” Dean answered after a while; “I would be away for maybe four or five months, but we’ll probably get a few breaks, just like when we were filming The Hobbit. I’ll come home and be with you whenever we get one. I promise, okay?”

Aidan hummed softly. “Who’s got the leading role?”

“I don’t know, they didn’t give me a lot of details. They said they’d call, but I don’t know when they will. But what about you, did you check your email?”

His lover groaned, but didn’t open his eyes. “Yeah, I did. Nothing…”

Dean stopped his treatment so that he could pull his lover closer and kiss him on the mouth, at which Aidan fortunately leaned in to deepen it. Dean ran his fingers through his lover’s dark curls until they broke apart and Aidan rested his head back on his chest. The younger man sighed contently when Dean ran his fingers over his bare back, softly tickling up and down his spine.

“You will, you’re Aidan fucking Turner. It’s their loss if they refuse to hire you, not yours. I’m really sorry that this is causing you so much grief, the casting directors are being ridiculous pricks. I promise that once you get that part, once you’re the star on New Zealand telly, they’re going to wish they had never refused you. You’ll be fine, I promise you’ll be fine. Now come here, I know something that will make you feel better.”

Aidan grinned at the suggestion and quickly forgot about all his worries when Dean pulled him into a passionate kiss.

 

The next few days were rough. Not only for Aidan, who had only received one small job offer so far to pose for a newspaper commercial which didn’t earn him much more than a week’s worth of groceries. But also for Dean, who felt the need to celebrate for receiving his role but had to hold back his excitement so that he wouldn’t upset Aidan. And that last part was difficult, because it didn’t take very much lately to upset his lover. One badly formulated sentence or one poor choice of a word could result into Aidan either getting angry and breaking something or crying and locking himself up in the bathroom. Dean didn’t like fighting at all, so the only thing he could do was to give his lover some space, which meant they often went to bed at different times and sometimes even eat dinner at different hours. And whenever Dean tried to ask him how his job-hunting went, he’d be snarled at, or when he asked his lover how his day was, his question would be completely ignored. The tension at home was rapidly building up, and Dean knew that it wouldn’t take much longer for them to have their first big fight. Avoiding Aidan to prevent a fight was not an option, because his lover already felt rejected by pretty much every inhabitant of New Zealand, but spending more time together to try and improve his mood usually resulted into Dean watching a movie all by himself while Aidan sat next to him playing games on his smartphone and drinking more beer than he should on a normal weekday.

So when Dean came home one day from a long and heavy shoot and Aidan hadn’t started preparing their dinner like he’d promised that morning, Dean had finally reached his limit and lost it.

“Jesus Aidan, you said you were going to make dinner!”

He slammed the door to the living room shut and threw his backpack across the room angrily,  hitting and waking Batman up from his nap. Great, now literally everyone in their household was grumpy. Aidan looked up from his phone on the couch and checked the clock on the wall, his expression dropping at the realisation that he’d lost track of the time. Dean noticed that immediately and couldn’t help himself from making a nasty remark about it.

“Yeah, if you could maybe stop shitting with your phone all day and actually _do_ something useful, like making fucking dinner, that would help very much.”

It only took a few seconds for Dean to break out of his angry haze and realise that he’d just said something terribly stupid, but it was already too late, because Aidan had jumped up from the couch and gave Dean a furious look.

“What the fuck? You _know_ I’m working my ass off to try and find something but they won’t _have_ me. Do you think I’m at home all day because I don’t want to work? Do you think I like staying here doing nothing? While you go to work every morning earning fucking money and getting job offers that I could only fucking dream of? Do you think this is what I want? Because it’s fucking _NOT_.”

Aidan threw his phone to the floor angrily, resulting into its screen cracking and Batman fleeing to the kitchen with his tail in between his legs.

“ _I WANT TO GET INTO FUCKING ACTING AGAIN, LIKE I DID BACK IN IRELAND. YOU KNOW, I’M BEGINNING TO QUESTION WHAT THE FUCK I WAS THINKING TO MOVE HERE, WHAT THE FUCK WAS WRONG WITH ME FOR THINKING I COULD ACTUALLY LIVE A FUCKING LIFE HERE IN NEW FUCKING ZEALAND._ ”

“Jesus Christ Aidan will you stop it? There’s no need to yell at me because you can’t get a job! I can’t help that, I’d love to help you with it but I can’t!”

Dean stepped forward and reached over to pick Aidan’s broken phone up from where it lay on the ground, but Aidan kicked the device across the room and angrily gave Dean a push, causing the older man to tumble and hit his head painfully against the corner of the coffee table. Tears immediately formed in his eyes at the stinging spot on the back of his head, and he groaned at the soreness of his back when he pushed himself back up. Aidan stared at him with wide eyes, probably feeling guilty about his outbreak, but Dean had had enough.

“You know what? Fuck you! I’ve had enough of your shitty mood swings. I’m going upstairs and don’t you fucking dare to come after me. You can sleep in the spare bedroom, just leave me the fuck alone.”

Dean didn’t look back once when he stormed out of the living room, missing how Aidan sunk down onto the floor and curled himself into a ball, sobbing loudly and heartbreakingly.  

 

So that’s how Dean ended up locking himself into his bedroom, not responding to Aidan repeatedly knocking at the door and begging him for forgiveness. After half an hour of just sitting next to the shut door and listening for any sign of Dean even being in there, he finally gave up and slowly descended the stairs. Once there, he immediately went for the kitchen cabinets and retrieved a half-empty bottle of vodka, which he took with him to the living room. He let himself fall down onto the couch and reached for the remote, but there was nothing on TV that could take his mind off of his thoughts. Sensing his depressive mood, Batman immediately jumped on top of the couch and curled into a ball next to him, resting its head on top of his knee. Aidan loved his dog, because unlike Dean, Batman didn’t even frown at the amount of alcohol his daddy was currently downing, straight out of the bottle. But drinking was the only thing that could help him forget about everything for a while, because the more he drank, the less he cared about the fight with his boyfriend, heck he could even be his ex-boyfriend already, who was currently being an asshole upstairs for ignoring his pleading. Aidan was confused about it, mostly about who actually caused the argument. Was it Aidan who had simply forgotten to start dinner because he was trying to get his mind off of job-hunting by playing a silly game on his phone, or was it Dean, who had probably had a rough day on set and felt the need to yell at him to feel a little bit better? Probably both, Aidan thought miserably as he took another mouthful of vodka, not even twitching a muscle at the strong burn. And he had absolutely no idea how to fix it.

 

It was 03:37 when Dean woke up from a nightmare, panting and covered in sweat. Though he couldn’t entirely remember what his dream had been about, he still knew that he’d seen a terrified Aidan, and that something terrible had happened to him. So when he saw his lover’s side of the bed was empty and remembered their fight from the evening before, he buried his face in his hands and slapped his cheeks a few times to help him wake up before crawling out of bed and unlocking the door. He was about to walk over to the spare-bedroom to talk to Aidan when he noticed that the light in the bathroom was switched on. He walked towards the door and gently knocked on it.

“Aidan, baby are you in there?”

No response. So Dean carefully opened the door, which fortunately was unlocked, and grimaced when he was met by a very strong smell of vomit. Once inside, he instantly kneeled down next to Aidan, who was lying unresponsive on the cold floor, and he tried to lift him up by wrapping his arms underneath his armpits. Fortunately, Aidan drunkenly stumbled along a bit when Dean dragged him back towards their bedroom, and once there he placed him on top of their bed and wrapped him tightly into the blankets. He then returned to the bathroom to quickly clean up the mess his lover had made. Most of the vomit had fortunately found its way into the toilet and only needed to be flushed away, but an empty bottle of vodka lay shattered onto the tiles, and Dean made a mental note to check his lover for any cuts when he carefully collected the shards and threw them into the trash bin. When he was done with cleaning, he slowly shuffled back towards their bedroom, where he lay back down in bed and wrapped both his arms and a leg protectively around his unconscious lover. He didn’t sleep anymore that night, because all he could do was worry about how he couldn’t possibly leave New Zealand to shoot a movie in America if that meant he’d have to leave Aidan behind in a state like this. He pulled Aidan closer to his chest and deeply inhaled his scent. _No_ , Dean thought miserably as he kissed his lover’s shoulder. _I really can’t do it_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, comments and kudos are much appreciated! <3


	10. The Final Straw

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean finds out about a secret Aidan's been hiding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very happy to introduce the lovely **Finduilas88**!
> 
> She is going to beta-read Leaving on a Jet Plane. This is the first chapter she's corrected, and she's wonderfully filtered out my mistakes. Admit it, it looks so much better, doesn't it? 
> 
> So let's show her some love! <3

 

Aidan had to suppress an excited yelp when he saw that Adam was online on Skype. He quickly covered his mouth with his hands and listened for any sign that he’d woken Dean up. It was late—or early if you prefer—and Aidan hadn’t been able to fall asleep. He’d been fighting with his feelings alone for too long now, and he needed someone who wasn’t named Dean to give him his opinion. The first person he thought of was Adam, whose face had now appeared onto his screen, and he was frowning suspiciously at him.

“Aidan? Isn’t it like midnight there in New Zealand?”

“I seriously need to talk to you,” Aidan whispered, frequently tearing his gaze away from the screen to glance at the door to the living room to see if Dean was coming down the stairs.

“I suppose it can’t wait…”

“Until the morning, no, it can’t. Listen, I have a problem and I don’t know what to do. It’s about Dean, well not only, but let’s start with Dean. We’ve been kind of… fighting a lot lately.”

Adam’s frown deepened. “Fighting, you two? You’ve got to be kidding, you two are inseparable!”

“Well, things have changed, and I’m afraid it’s all happened because I moved here. I think it all has to do with me having trouble settling in here. Like come on Ads, I’ve been here for almost half a year now and I still feel like a foreigner. And it really pisses me off and it’s affecting our relationship…”

“But what if it just takes a little longer? Just give it time, Aid, it really doesn’t surprise me that you don’t feel at home yet if you’ve only been there for six months. And you’ve got Dean, right?”

Aidan sighed and ran his fingers through his tangled curls. “Yeah, right…”

“Wait, you’re not thinking about breaking up with him, are you?”

“No! No, of course not. I’m thinking of a way to _prevent_ that from happening and it feels like the only thing that could really work is for me to go back to Ireland. Things were so much better between us when I was still in Dublin, pretty much everything changed since I moved. I really don’t know what to do, and I was kind of hoping that maybe you could help me…”

Adam closed his eyes as he considered a solution, but then he let his shoulders down and gave him a sympathetic look. “I don’t know, Aid. You should talk to Dean about it.”

“I can’t, and I won’t, because we’ll fight about it. We already fight, and I really don’t want it to get worse. You know, last week Dean got home from work and—shit, —I need to go. He’s coming down the stairs, I’ll call you later. Bye mate!”

“Aidan, please—”

Aidan quickly closed his laptop and ran over to the kitchen so that he could pretend he was making himself a hot beverage. Dean seemed to fall for it, because he walked over to him and wrapped both his arms around his waist to pull him into a warm hug.

“Why are you not in bed?” he asked sleepily.

“I needed a drink, couldn’t sleep. How was work? I fell asleep before you returned, again, sorry…”

“It’s fine, don’t worry. It was hard… We were supposed to be done at seven but at ten we were _still_ not done shooting. I begged the director to let me go home and he finally let me half an hour later. It’s my fault, really.”

Aidan nodded but said nothing more. He knew he couldn’t complain about his lover’s long work-days because he was the reason he was having them in the first place. After Dean found him drunk and passed out in the bathroom the week before, though he couldn’t remember anything of that, he’d called the casting-lady from Utopia back the next morning telling her he refused the job for ‘family reasons’. That’s how he ended up with this job, a leading role in a new (and according to Dean pretty bad) comedy series called ‘Cop Adventures’, for which he would obviously be paid much less, but it meant he could stay in New Zealand taking care of his sorry ass. That’s what Aidan called himself lately: a sorry ass, a pain in the ass, a bother, a burden... He was sure that it would only be a matter of time before everyone around him would start calling him ‘unemployed Aidan’, ‘talentless Turner’, or ‘the alcoholic Irishman’. Because in the week after their first big fight, Aidan had finally completely changed from the usual happy, smiling bloke into Dean’s depressed boyfriend.

So he let himself be pulled back to the bedroom, where once under the covers he found he’d received a text from Adam. He had to squeeze his eyes in order to read it through the heavily cracked screen, also apparently a result from their fighting a week ago, but the message was clear:

_-Talk to him, I’m serious_

Aidan snorted and deleted the message before cuddling into Dean’s arms. He soon fell asleep to his lover’s soft snoring and the gentle howling of the wind.

 

The next few days passed as usual. Dean would leave for work early in the morning and depending on what he’d get offered Aidan would follow a few hours later. He’d had a few more photo shoots for some random magazines and he was even asked to voice a commercial. Work-related, Aidan had to admit that things were going better. He had been given a 3-month contract by the modelling agency that frequently offered him jobs and he was gradually starting to earn more money, but still the only thing he could think of was acting. He gladly accepted the offer to model because he hoped that it would draw the attention of casting agencies. He hoped that if he could do a commercial, he would eventually get into acting again. Even if it was just as an extra, a nameless passer-by… It had been so long since he had last set a foot on a set that he was starting to feel restless. Whatever exciting things a modelling agency could offer him, it would just never be enough.

And Dean had it all, Aidan knew that very well. He was proud of his lover for his success, but he was just as jealous as he was happy for him. And no matter how much he tried to hold that back, it would sometimes just slip out. Like when Dean told him what a great day at work he’d had, or even when he complained about not getting enough time off. Sometimes Aidan would give a snarky reply such as ‘hoo-fucking-ray’ or ‘I wish I had _less_ time off’. Aidan knew he shouldn’t do that, that it only increased the tension between them and that it only resulted into Dean getting angry with him and them spending the rest of the day apart and in silence, but he just couldn’t help it. Even though it made him feel guilty afterwards, at the moment it felt so good.

 

But on Friday night, the usual time that Aidan Skyped with his parents, he knew that something was wrong when he suddenly heard a gentle knocking on the door. Dean never interrupted him when he was Skyping with family or friends back home, so when Dean pushed the door open and walked towards him, Aidan gave him a questioning look. Dean didn’t make eye contact. He was staring out of the small bedroom-window and simply said,

“We need to talk.”

 _Oh_. So Aidan excused himself from his parents and followed his boyfriend down the stairs. There, his lover asked him to down on the couch and gave him a cup of tea he’d just made. They sipped their drink, seconds and minutes passing in complete silence, and Aidan felt himself getting more irritated the longer Dean refused to say anything. When he had almost finished his drink, he couldn’t help himself anymore and he said in annoyance:

“You know, I was having a pretty nice talk with my parents upstairs and if you’re planning on staying silent I’m going—”

“Why didn’t you talk to me then?” Dean interrupted angrily. “You want me to do all the talking but instead of talking to me you’re going to someone else.”

Aidan just stared at him, shaking his head in confusion. “What do you…”

“Adam just called me, and he told me some pretty interesting things.”

Aidan’s eyes widened to the point they almost dropped out of their sockets, and his mouth fell open in utter disbelief. “You’re joking.”

“How could you go to Adam if you’ve got me? Why do I need to find out that you’re seriously thinking about going back to Ireland from him? Don’t you –”

“He had no fucking right to tell you that!”

“So it is true then, you want to go back? You want to go _home_ after all we’ve fucking been through together?”

“I don’t know! I don’t know and that’s why I needed someone to talk to, to help me figure out what to do!”

“Then you should have talked to _ME_!” Dean shouted and he stood up so that he could furiously throw the closest object he could find across the room, which fortunately was yesterday’s newspaper. He pointed an accusing finger at his boyfriend, who was still sitting on the couch and was cringing from fear.

“After all I’ve done for you! After all I did, I did everything I could to help you settle in, I took you to fucking _Sydney_ and then you want to give up on us and just leave? Do I seriously mean that little to you?”

“No! Dean please, you don’t understand—”

“Then fucking _tell_ me! Tell me, Aidan…”

Dean sighed and buried his face in his hands in defeat. Aidan didn’t dare to move a muscle, afraid that Dean might hurt him in another outburst of anger. He knew Dean would never hurt him, but for some reason he felt vulnerable, he felt scared. Scared that Dean wouldn’t understand, scared that Dean was going to leave him…

“I wanted to leave because… because I don’t want to leave you,” he whispered, his voice cracking multiple times, and he looked at Dean with big, teary eyes. Dean just stood there and didn’t look back.

“That makes no fucking sense, Aidan.”

“But it does… We’ve been fighting so much since I moved here, things were so much better between us when I was still in Ireland. I love you so much, Deano. I can’t live without you, but I also can’t live with you here…”

Dean sighed deeply, and gave a small nod to indicate that he understood and finally sat back down next to him. They were silent for a long time while Dean tried to sort out his thoughts. When he spoke again, his voice was soft. “So you really want to leave New Zealand?”

Aidan’s bottom lip was trembling and tears were streaming down his cheeks as he nodded.

“I-I don’t want to lose you D-Dean, I c-can’t live without you,” he pleaded, but still made no move to touch his lover. Neither did Dean.

The silence stretched for almost ten minutes while both men were lost in their own thoughts. Aidan had curled up with his arms wrapped around his knees and was wetting his jeans with his tears, and Dean had rested his elbows on his thighs with his hands folded underneath his chin. Their tea was gradually turning cold, neither of them had enough appetite to finish their drinks. It took Dean some time to think of a way to propose it, but he knew and had known for quite some time that there was really only one thing left they could do to try to fix their problems. He slowly turned his head to look at Aidan, and he could feel his heart breaking to see his lover looking so sad and miserable. He swallowed a few times before he quietly asked:

“Do you want to move? I mean, together?”

Aidan shook his head to focus his eyes as he’d been staring at the wall opposite of them. He looked at Dean in shock, “You wouldn’t. You s-said you didn’t want to l-leave Auckland. Living together a-always meant here, in New-Zealand. It was always h-here…”

Dean then finally reached out his arms to pull his lover into an embrace, at which Aidan completely broke down and started sobbing loudly and shamelessly into his lover’s t-shirt. Dean gently rocked him and rubbed his back, kissing his neck and wiping the tears away from his cheeks. Seeing his love so heartbroken ripped something inside him, his heart probably, and he felt so relieved that Adam had called him before Aidan actually made plans to leave, before he’d already bought a ticket home. He felt sick at the thought that he would have to wave his love goodbye at the Auckland Airport for the second time, probably for the last time…

“Hey,” he whispered soothingly; “You didn’t seriously think I was going to let you leave me that easily, did you?”

Aidan shook his head as he continued crying, wrapping his arms more firmly around Dean’s neck and pulling him closer.

“Of course I wouldn’t, now calm down baby, shh, it’s going to be alright…”

Dean held Aidan close, both of them completely forgetting about Aidan’s parents on Skype. Dean had been expecting this for a long time, he had known for weeks, months even that this was going to happen eventually, and he had already done a lot of thinking on it. He knew that there were only two things that could solve the problems they were having: breaking up or moving together. Aidan going back to Ireland was not an option, it would only lead to more problems. If they were going to do the long-distance relationship again, eventually one of them would find someone else that was not living half the world away and it would end with them breaking up after all. The only thing Dean knew that could really work was to choose another country to live, somewhere where they could both be actors and live a happy life. It had been unfair since the beginning, because Dean knew he’d been an asshole for not wanting to leave New Zealand. They’d shoved it off to America being too crowded or England being too boring, but actually Dean hadn’t wanted to leave his homeland. The only option was for Aidan to move in with him, otherwise it would never have happened. And now this is what it had resulted: a homesick Aidan crying into his shoulder, so sick of New Zealand that he was willing to give up on their love so that he could go back home. Now it was once more Dean’s turn to feel guilty about it, guilty for doing this to his love. Guilty for having him come all the way to Auckland where competition for acting-jobs was much greater than back in Ireland, where Aidan was the star like he was the star here in New Zealand. He should have known that Aidan was going to have a hard time here, and it had all been his fault. It was time for it to stop, and Dean knew there was only one way to do it.

“We’ll move, as soon as I’m done shooting that stupid ‘Cop Adventures’ show we’ll make plans and we’ll move. I should have known this was a stupid idea. Now please calm down, baby. Why don’t you go for a walk? The park will be nice and quiet now it’s evening, just don’t go too far, you’ll never know what people wander around on the streets here at night.”

Aidan dried his cheeks and nodded. He gave one look at Batman in his dog-bed, who was lying there on his back with his paws up in the air in what was obviously a deep sleep, and then shook his head with a weak grin.

“I’ll just go alone, I promise I’ll be back before midnight.”

Dean nodded and kissed Aidan passionately on the lips, running his fingers through his beautiful curls and then helped him into his jacket in the small hallway.

“I’ll be right back,” Aidan promised once more, and for the first time in what felt like a month he treated Dean to another one of his beautiful smiles. With a final exchange of “I love you’s”, Dean closed the door behind him and he knew that once his lover would be back from his walk, he’d never ever let him leave like this again.

 

Dean climbed up the stairs and let himself fall onto the bed. It was nearly midnight, and he was starting to feel pretty tired. He was glad that tomorrow was Saturday and he wasn’t expected on set, but waking up at four in the morning every day for the past five days was taking its toll, and their fighting downstairs had drained pretty much all the energy he had left. So confident that his lover would wake him up when he returned home, he closed the blinds, switched off the lights and buried himself under the warmth of the blankets. It didn’t take more than a few minutes before he fell into a deep sleep.

 

The next morning, Dean was awakened by a ray of sunlight shining annoyingly into his left eye. He grumpily turned around in bed and blindly searched for the warmth of another body. He opened his eyes confused when he realised that the bed was empty other than him. He was just about to start worrying when he realised that it was already past nine and Aidan was probably already downstairs making breakfast. So he took his time to stretch his arms and back before pulling on some clothes and making his way downstairs. But all he found there was Batman giving him the annoyed my-bowl-is-empty frown and their two mugs of tea still on the coffee table. He searched for a note or some other indication to know where Aidan was at while his heart started thumping more heavily behind his ribs. He was just about to check his phone for a text when he saw that Aidan’s was lying abandoned on the dining table, and after five more minutes of searching the house and realising that he was in fact the only man there, he noticed his hands were starting to shake and he began to breathe more heavily as he started to panic. They had just made a very positive step towards solving their relationship problems, and even if they hadn’t, Aidan was not a person who would deliberately run away. Even if he was just taking a walk in the park like he often did, it made no sense for him to leave without a note. Aidan always left a note…

Dean decided to just make some coffee and wait to see if Aidan came home, maybe he was getting groceries or taking out the trash. But after half an hour, there was still no sign of him, so he grabbed his coat and left the apartment to search for him on the streets. The first place he went was the park, but there was no sign of the Irishman, not even a word of him when he asked passers-by if they’d seen a tall, dark haired man somewhere. They all said they’d never seen him before, and he was just about to start screaming his name when he remembered that Aidan could have gone to get some groceries. So Dean ran to the corner shop, and as soon as he was inside asked the lady behind the cash register if she’d seen a dark haired man with an Irish accent this morning. But she too pitifully shook her head and said she hadn’t seen him.

Dean just managed to politely thank her and get out of the shop before the world suddenly started spinning and he had to quickly sit down on the sidewalk for a moment to prevent himself from fainting and possibly hurting himself. With shaking hands he took his phone out of his trouser-pocket and dialled the first number that came to his mind. It took a few moments before he realised who he’d actually called.

“ _Brett O’Gorman speaking._ ”

He let out a big sigh when he heard the familiar voice of his younger brother, and he knew he didn’t have to be embarrassed when he suddenly started to cry, unable to think straight as flashes of all terrible things that could have happened to his lover passed his vision. Aidan could have gotten lost, he still didn’t know the city well and without a phone there was no way he could call someone for help. He could be hurt, he could have been beaten up, his life could be in danger… His thoughts blinded him with worry and he could only vaguely hear his brother talking to him through the phone.

“ _Dean, is that you? Dean, calm down. Take a deep breath, just like that. There you go. What’s the matter, why are you upset?_ ”

It took Dean a few tries to calm down a bit and to swallow away the big lump in his throat before he managed to talk. “I-it’s Aidan. He didn’t c-come h-home last night.”

It was silent for a few seconds on the other side of the line. “ _You don’t know where he could be?_ ”

“I-I spoke to a few p-people in the park and they h-hadn’t seen him.”

“ _Where are you now?_ ”

“Just outside the c-corner shop...”

“ _Go home, check if he’s there and call me back if he’s not. Stay calm, okay? I need you to stay calm._ ”

Dean nodded, too distracted to remember that Brett couldn’t see a nod through the phone, as he hung up and started sprinting back towards their apartment at top speed. He barely managed to escape getting hit by a car when he crossed the road without looking, and the driver angrily honked at him and gave him the finger. Dean ignored him and ran the final distance until he reached the front door. With a shaking hand he managed to unlock it and enter the place.

“ _AIDAN!_ ” he immediately called from the small hallway. “ _AIDAN, PLEASE!_ ”

But there was no response. He managed to get through the living room and miserably sank down on the cold kitchen floor. Dean was starting to hyperventilate, already gasping for air, but then he suddenly remembered the soft tone of his brother’s voice: ‘ _I need you to stay calm_.’

So he forced himself to take a few deep breaths and then dialled his brother’s number again. It only took two rings for Brett to pick up.

“ _And?_ ”

“He’s not here,” Dean whispered, not tearing his eyes away from the kitchen window, praying to see his lover passing by on the sidewalk. “I-I don’t know what to do…”

“ _Give me twenty minutes, I’ll be right there._ ”

His brother hung up, and after a few seconds of complete silence the room was filled with the heart-breaking sound of Dean crying and desperately begging Aidan to come home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hate me. I'm really sorry...


	11. Where are you?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aidan goes missing. Dean has doubts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Beta-read by the wonderful Finduilas88!**
> 
>  
> 
> Alright guys, I have an excuse for this. Finduilas and I decided to change the plot a bit and that's why this update took a little longer. She left some wonderful suggestions for me to work with, and I can't wait to write it all down!
> 
> So I'm very sorry for the wait, I hope this chapter was worth it!
> 
> Love,
> 
> Eá <3

 

Dean was startled out of his thoughts when he suddenly heard the doorbell ringing. With shaking hands he did his best to dry his cheeks and smoothed his shirt to try and look as presentable as possible. He shuffled out of the kitchen and when he opened the front-door, he was immediately pulled into a warm hug. Dean clenched tightly at his brother’s shoulders while Brett gave him a few comforting pats on his back and murmured a few soothing words into his ear before releasing him. Though Dean was the elder of the two, Brett was almost a head taller than him and right now it felt as if the roles had been switched and he’d become the youngest. Brett had always been very good at taking care of other people, since he was not a person to fight with others and was always ready to help when someone needed it. Though his younger brother had been living in his shadow for most of their youth, with Dean being a child star and the eldest son, Brett had always continued to love and support him no matter what. They were not only brothers, but also very good friends that loved to hang out and have a good time. They didn’t live very far away from each other, but they still didn’t see each other as often as they’d liked lately because Dean had Aidan here now and… _Oh Aidan_ …

“Hey, don’t cry, you were doing so great,” Brett pointed out when he noticed that Dean’s eyes were filling with tears again, and he came back from the kitchen with two mugs of steaming tea. He handed one over to Dean and pointed his head towards the couch. They both sat down, and Dean was staring absent-mindedly at the flag of Ireland that still hung proudly on their wall while Brett gently rubbed his shoulder. The comforting presence of a family-member was doing a great job calming him down, and he took a few careful sips of his tea.

“H-how are you doing then?” Dean asked, his voice shaking slightly.

Small dimples appeared onto Brett’s cheeks when he smiled, “I’m doing fine, thanks. I’m working on a small theatre project and the cast is really great. I met a nice girl there too, her name is Lily, but I have a feeling she’s not into the beard…”

Dean laughed weakly when Brett rubbed his stubbly chin. He enjoyed listening to his brother, who for some reason always found it difficult to shut up once he got started. Normally that greatly annoyed the people around him, but right now, it was exactly what Dean needed.

“But I’m not shaving it for her, _god_ no. You know, beards are itchy but they really keep your chin warm during the winter. Did you see how cold it is outside? There was a layer of frost on the grass this morning!”

Brett gasped and immediately covered his mouth with his hands when he realised what he’d just said, and he quickly apologised.

“Sorry, sorry bro. That was a stupid thing to say; maybe I should just stop talking…”

Dean smiled and shook his head. He loved his brother brother’s company too much to get angry with him. Besides, he had known Brett long enough to understand that he sometimes said stupid things, and that his brother never meant to cause any harm, so it didn’t bother him that much.

“It’s alright, I kind of like it when you rattle on. It’s funny. Aidan’s really good at that too—it’s no surprise the two of you got along the moment you met…”

“Yes, Aidan is a great bloke…”

The brothers sipped their tea in silence, but it was a comfortable one. Brett looked around while Dean continued to stare at the flag. The last time Brett had been here was before Aidan moved in, and he liked how the place had many Irish accents now. The first time he met Aidan was at his parent’s house, where they celebrated Christmas. He had only been in Auckland for a few weeks back then and was still adjusting to the city. Brett being a bit of a history geek had told him all about the past of the city and its most famous buildings. Aidan had been really enthusiastic to learn more about New Zealand, so it came as a surprise when Dean called him back in June to say that things weren’t going very well between them. That Aidan had a hard time finding a full-time job and that he didn’t feel comfortable and at home in Auckland. They had talked until deep in the night, Brett had wanted to hear everything knowing that Dean would feel much better afterwards. And he did, and he hadn’t heard from his brother again until now. It had been a huge shock for him to hear that Aidan had gone missing, and he immediately knew he had to do something to help. If his brother needed him, then he’d be there for him to help him through it. He’d do anything it took to get Aidan back home safe.

“I think it’s time we started calling some people, don’t you?”

Dean nodded and put his empty mug back onto the coffee table. The ones from last night were still there, and he ended up staring at them for a few seconds. Brett noticed and quickly stood up from the couch to collect them and bring them back to the kitchen.

“He knows were Mum and Dad live, right?” he asked from there; “Call Mum, maybe he’s there.”

Dean sighed and shook his head, “She would have called me if he were there…”

Brett came back into the living room and folded his arms, “Just call her anyway. Besides, she deserves to know what’s going on. And it’s Mum, you know her, if you don’t phone her she’s going to find out herself anyway. Do you want me to call?”

Brett was already working his phone out of his jeans when Dean shook his head.

“It’s fine, I’ll call her… Maybe you can phone Ben and Jared, we’ve been at their places before. A-and the hospital, call the City Hospital and ask if he’s there, you never know.”

Brett agreed and left the living room to make the calls upstairs. Dean sighed deeply and then dialled his parent’s house number. It wasn’t his mother who answered the call like he’d expected, but his father. Maybe it was better that way, knowing his mother wouldn’t shut up if she were the first to find out that Aidan was missing.

 

_“Lance O’Gorman.”_

“Dad, it’s me…”

_“Dean? What a pleasure, my boy. To what do I owe this call?”_

“Eh…”

Dean immediately lost the courage to tell his father when he heard the happy sound of his voice. His father realised that something was not right.

_“Is it about Aidan?”_

“How do you know I’m calling about Aidan?”

_“Well, he wasn’t looking very well the last time we saw him. Your mother and I have been worrying about his well-being. You two didn’t break up, did you?”_

“No, we didn’t break up. It’s something else, he’s…” Dean had to take a few deep breaths to keep his voice steady, “He’s gone missing, Dad...”

It was silent for a while on the other side of the line. He could hear his mother in the background asking who was calling, but his father didn’t answer her.

_“When did you last see him?”_

“He went out for a walk last night and hasn’t returned home.”

_“Have you called the police yet? Hospitals?”_

“Not yet, but Brett’s here. We’re calling everyone that Aidan knows and after that we’ll probably report him missing.”

_“Good, that’s good. Don’t wait too long, every second counts. Do you need our help?”_

“No, no I think we’re fine for now. Thank you Dad, I eh… I guess I’ll hang up then and call some others who might know where he is…”

_“Alright son, I’m proud of you. Don’t hesitate to call us if you need our help.”_

“Brett or I will call you tonight to let you know if we’ve found anything.”

 

Miserable, Dean hung up and waited for Brett to come back downstairs. When he did, his brother shook his head apologetically and sat back down next to him on the couch.

“Nothing, I’m so sorry, Dean. Ben and Jared haven’t seen him, and he’s also not in any of the three closest hospitals. They all took down his description and promised to call as soon as possible if he came in. I gave them your number.”

Dean just sighed and rested his chin on top of his folded hands. “I want to go back to the park, to look for him and maybe talk to some more people.”

Brett nodded, “Alright then, but promise me that if we don’t find him you’ll call the police and tell them that Aidan’s gone missing. We shouldn’t wait too long, every second counts.”

Dean grinned weakly at the same words he’d just heard his father say to him moments ago. He looked into his brother’s eyes, which were just as blue as his own.

“We’ll find him, I can just feel it.”

Brett sighed sceptically but followed Dean to the front door anyway. Together, they left the apartment and made their way over to the park.

 

The brothers searched and searched until dinnertime, asking countless of people if they’d seen him and going through every street and alley to find signs of him having been there. Brett noticed that Dean became more desperate with every minute that passed without a sign of Aidan and when it was almost seven o’clock, he had to beg his brother to come back home with him. Dean had immediately put up a fight, stating there were still so many streets they hadn’t looked, that Aidan could be nearby and they shouldn’t give up just yet. Brett disagreed though, reminding Dean they should call the police to report Aidan missing, and they continued to argue until Dean eventually burst into tears, shaking all over. Brett sighed in defeat and held his brother while he waited for him to calm down a bit and was then finally able to lead him to a bus to bring them back home. There, he started preparing something easy for dinner while Dean was in the living room talking to Aidan’s parents on the phone. Brett had to force Dean to call them, insisting that the Turners deserved to know what was going on before they called the police and the news quickly spread. The phone-call took almost half an hour in which Dean promised they would do anything to find Aidan and to call back if there was any news. Then, he was finally able to contact the police. Neither of them even touched their food while they waited for the cops to arrive, which they said would take about an hour. While they were waiting they were both completely silent, the only noise came from the ticking of the clock and the traffic outside.

After what felt like an age, the cops finally rang the doorbell and entered the apartment. Brett guided them towards the living room where he gave the three men a cup of tea, which they gladly accepted. Brett sat back down next to his brother and wrapped an arm around his shoulder for support while the cops took place on the slightly smaller couch on their right. One of the three men retrieved a notebook and a pen from his bag and started writing some things down. The man in the middle cleared his throat before he started speaking, “Mister O’Gorman, my name is Officer Greg Johnson. My colleges are Tim Harris,” he pointed at the man with the notebook, “and Johann Morrison. We’re here to help find your loved one. Can you start with giving us a description? Tell us everything you know, what clothes he was wearing the night he disappeared, any birthmarks or other traits people can identify him by.”

Dean swallowed uncomfortably and then softly began to describe Aidan to the officers. He started easy by telling them about his brown, almost black curls and olive skin. How his eyes looked and what clothes he was wearing, but he also told them about his Irish accent and the thin childhood scar that was still quite visible on his left cheek. The cops nodded and Tim wrote everything down. Greg continued to ask questions, under what circumstances Aidan left and how familiar he was with the city. These questions made the lump that was already present in Dean’s throat almost impossibly large, and tears sprang in his eyes when he tried to swallow it away. Fortunately, Brett noticed his brother’s discomfort and quickly took over answering the questions.

After about an hour, the cops said they had enough information to work with and left. They took pictures of Aidan and even some hair from his hair-brush along with the information Dean and Brett had given them about him. They promised they would call immediately if they had any news and asked the brothers to hang posters around Auckland and post his picture on social media. They agreed, and Brett went upstairs to make a missing-poster on the computer and print as many copies as the printer could handle while Dean reluctantly made his way towards his laptop on the dining table. He started it and waited for it to load before opening his twitter account. It then hit him hard that he was far from only one suffering from Aidan’s disappearance. The last couple of weeks, Dean hadn’t been as active on social media as he was before—Instagram was lacking the usual happy selfies like the one he posted after their holiday in Sydney and he didn’t tweet as often as he used to. He saw that his fans had sent him many questions about where he was and if they were doing alright, so with pain in his heart he began a new tweet.

_I’m so sad to report that Aidan is missing. He left for Western Park AKL last night 11:34 PM and didn’t return. Please RT and help find him._

He spent a few minutes with his eyes closed as he silently prayed that this would help with finding Aidan. He was a relatively well-known actor which meant he had almost thirty thousand followers on twitter, surely a few of them would be from Auckland and could help search for him. He sent the tweet and braced himself for what the responses would be. Indeed, only a few seconds after the tweet appeared on everyone’s homepage, people started asking if he was joking. Then, after a couple of minutes, almost a thousand people had already retweeted his message and many of his followers were sending him worried messages. He shut down his laptop, trusting his fans to forward the message for him, and went upstairs to see if Brett was nearly done with printing the posters. When he entered the small room where they kept a second computer and a printer, Brett immediately handed him a big pile of posters. Dean could feel his heart breaking when he took them to their bedroom and sat down on a corner of the bed to study them. Almost the entire poster was covered by a big picture of Aidan’s face. On the top, big letters read MISSING and on the bottom were descriptions and phone-numbers. A trembling hand touched the face on the poster.

“Oh baby, where are you?” he softly whispered, and a single tear slid down the tip of his nose and was immediately absorbed by the paper. The picture showed a smiling Aidan, an expression that was usually very contagious but right now, Dean felt like he would never be able to smile again.

 

About twenty minutes later, Brett reappeared with another pile of posters and a few rolls of tape. He sat down next to Dean on the bed and gently rubbed his brother’s shoulder.

“Come on; let’s just get it over with.”

Dean nodded and followed Brett downstairs. They put on their jackets and left the apartment.

 

As it turned out, many people had already gathered at Western Park and when they saw Dean, they all ran towards him and asked him everything about what had happened to Aidan. Dean didn’t tell them much more than what he’d written in his tweet, it was nobody’s business that the two had been fighting a lot lately, but he was very glad when they offered to help spreading the posters around the city. Some took the posters with them to make more copies, and others took busses to get the posters at as many spots in the city as possible. Dean and Brett focussed on the neighbourhood, sticking the papers on as many streetlights and billboards as they could.

 

They were absorbed in their work that the two men jumped when Dean’s phone rang. When he answered, he recognised the voice of Officer Greg.

_“We contacted the local hospitals and they said they didn’t have a patient with either Mister Turner’s name or his descriptions. We did however find something peculiar. We contacted the bank and they found out that Aidan used the ATM machine to nearly empty his bank account not long after he left. We’re talking about almost two thousand dollars here.”_

“That can’t be…” Dean whispered, and he looked at his brother with wide eyes. “He c-can’t have…”

_“We’re doing everything we can to trace him. We’ll call you again soon, Mister O’Gorman.”_

“Yeah, yeah thank you very much.”

Dean almost dropped his phone out of his trembling hand when he hung up. “Brett…”

“No Dean, you know that’s impossible, he must have been forced to do it. He wouldn’t do something like that.”

“But why not? Wouldn’t it have shown on the security camera’s if he had been forced? Greg didn’t say anything about something like that, so Aid must have done it on purpose. Didn’t Adam say how badly he wanted to go home? He could be on a fucking airplane right now!”

“At least check before saying things like that! I mean, come on Dean. He didn’t pack anything, did he even have his passport with him?”

“How should I fucking know, Brett?”

Dean bitterly stuck his phone back in his pocket and threw the remaining pile of posters onto the pavement in frustration.

“Dean!” Brett exclaimed shocked, but Dean shook his head.

“I’m going home.”

Brett tried to grab his brother’s shoulder, but Dean forcefully pushed his hand away and left.

 

When Brett returned to Dean’s apartment an hour later, he let himself in with the spare-key. He immediately went upstairs to see if his brother was in his bedroom and when he saw that he was, he went back downstairs to make them some tea. When the tea was ready, he searched the kitchen cabinets for a medicine box and when he found it, he took a packet of sleeping-pills out of it. He brought the pills and the mug of tea upstairs and silently entered his brother’s bedroom. He shuffled towards the bed and placed them on Dean’s bedside table. He tucked his brother, who had already buried himself under the covers, in and ruffled his hair affectionately.

“I brought you some tea and sleeping pills. You can decide for yourself if you want to take them or not. I’m downstairs if you need me. Sleep tight.”

He squeezed his brother’s shoulder and left the room to go back downstairs. There, he took his own tea from the kitchen to the living room and sat down on the couch. When he took his phone out of his pocket, he saw he had a few missing calls from friends. He ignored them for now and opened the twitter-app to check on how things were going there and felt warmth spreading inside his chest when he saw that #FINDAIDAN was one of the leading trends. Dean’s tweet had almost fifty thousand retweets already and Brett felt relieved to know that people cared so much about Aidan’s wellbeing. He closed the app and called his parent’s house number. This time it was their mother who answered.

 

_“Vicky O’Gorman.”_

“Mum, it’s me, Brett.”

_“Oh Brettie, please tell me that Aidan is safe. Your father and I are so worried about him!”_

Brett sighed sadly, “He’s not home yet I’m afraid, but many people are looking for him. It shouldn’t take long before someone finds him; I’m convinced someone will find him very soon.”

_“How’s Dean?”_

“Not good, he’s trying to be strong but I can see that this is killing him. He’s in bed and I’m staying here tonight to make sure he’s okay. I’ll probably stay as long as he needs me, I don’t want him to go through this on his own.”

_“Good boy, I’m so proud of you. I love you, tell Dean I love him and that we feel with him.”_

“I will mom, thanks.”

Brett hung up and slowly climbed the stairs to head towards the spare bedroom. He took a short stop at the bathroom to use the toilet and splash his face with some cold water. When he was back in the hallway, he saw that the lights in Dean’s bedroom were switched off, but he couldn’t help but hear the soft sound of Dean’s sobbing when he walked past his door. It hurt Brett to see his brother like that and he hesitated for a long time wondering if he should go in to comfort him, but he decided in the end not to. Dean probably needed his space and he didn’t want to make him feel embarrassed if he came in while he was crying. So he walked on and entered the spare-bedroom. The bed was already made, so Brett took off his clothes until he was only wearing his underwear and crawled under the blankets. He could still hear the muffled sounds of Dean crying in the next room, and Brett ended up chewing his bottom lip and staring at the ceiling until he couldn’t hear his brother anymore. Hoping Dean could find some peace in sleep, he closed his own eyes and waited until he dozed off himself, silently praying that wherever he was, Aidan was healthy and doing the same.

 

It was almost two in the morning when Dean’s phone bleeped and lit up on his bedside table. Feeling sick and depressed, Dean had taken two sleeping pills and was sleeping too deeply to wake up from the sound. The notification that appeared onto his screen was a private message sent to him on twitter:

- _Hi Dean, I’m a huge fan and I was shocked to hear about what happened with Aidan. I hope you will read this message, because I have night-shift at the Auckland City Hospital ER and an unconscious man was brought in a few hours ago. It was really busy so I didn’t have time to message you until now. I’m not actually allowed to talk about patients but I thought you needed to know if you didn’t already: it’s Aidan._

Dean silently slept on, and after a few seconds the screen on his phone darkened again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are much appreciated! <3


	12. Come Back To Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aidan is found. Dean is in pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Beta-read by the wonderful Finduilas88!**
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> Chapter 12 is here, woo-hoo! I hope you'll like this chapter, I promise that the fluff will come back soon.
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> Love,
> 
> Eá <3

 

_It was cold outside despite wearing his heavy leather jacket and Aidan stuck his hands deep inside of the pockets of his jeans to make sure they stayed nicely warm. He absent-mindedly noticed that his right pocket was empty, which meant he had left his phone at home, but he didn’t give it much thought because he wasn’t planning on staying away from home for very long anyway._

_When he arrived at the park, which was not much more than a ten-minute walk away from home, he saw some youths with scooters claiming a park-bench and making an awful lot of noise for the time of day. Not feeling like being heckled as he passed them on his usual route, he decided to go the other way this night. It wasn’t a path he often walked, actually he had no idea where it led to, but he wasn’t going to go too far like he promised Dean so he figured it would be alright for just this once. The path led him away from the centre and it was overgrown by trees and bushes from both sides, making it almost impossible to see despite the streetlights. He whistled softly as he walked and greeted a familiar man who he often saw walking his dog in the park, but after a few minutes of following the path, Aidan started to feel a bit uneasy. He suddenly realised that he failed to recognize his surroundings and the further he was from home, the more tension seemed to hang in the air. Actually, the air even smelled a bit funny, and it took a few seconds too long for Aidan to realise that what he smelled was weed. Which meant he wasn’t alone._

_Aidan instantly widened his eyes and wanted to turn around to run back home but was then suddenly forcefully grabbed from behind by someone much taller and much stronger than him. Blinded by panic, Aidan tried to scream for help but someone held a hand over his mouth before he could make a sound and he was given a fierce blow to his jaw. While little stars in front of his eyes temporarily blinded him, as did the throbbing pain in his cheek and the faint taste of blood in his mouth, two more men each grabbed one of his shoulders with painful force and dragged him away from the park. Aidan, more scared than he had ever been in his entire life, didn’t dare to struggle and figured he would be in less danger if he just followed along, though he kept his eyes squeezed close. He was just wondering how much further the men would take him until they suddenly stopped and he felt something cold pressing against his neck. Realising what it must be, he almost fainted from fear._

_“Money, now!” the man with the knife hissed, and he was slapped hard on the cheek and then forcefully pushed forward. He immediately lost his balance and fell onto his hands and knees, at which the men started laughing and swearing at him. Two of the three men began kicking him to his ribs and spine while the third was on the look-out, and after one more painful blow against his chin, they helped him up from the ground. One of the men then grabbed Aidan’s face and forced eye-contact. Aidan didn’t dare to look away, knowing that he was outnumbered and that at least one of had a knife. Through the balaclava that the man was wearing, the only trait Aidan could make out was that the man’s eyes were as black as a vampire’s. It took him five attempts to swallow away the lump in his throat, but when he finally managed it came back immediately._

_“If you act only a little bit suspicious in front of those camera’s, you piece of shit, I’ll not hesitate for a second to cut your throat.”_

_The man spit in his face and he lifted Aidan’s chin up with the tip of his knife, at which he shivered and broke into cold sweat. His heart was pumping impossibly fast, and he wondered if the fear could kill him before the men would. His mind went into overdrive, as if his final minutes had gone in. What would they would do with his body? Would anyone ever find him here in this dark alley? Oh Dean… Tears sprung in his eyes as he thought of his lover, who was probably going to worry himself sick if he didn’t make it home tonight. But Aidan straightened his back. If they were going to murder him, he wanted to die knowing he’d stayed strong. For Dean._

_“And if you tell anyone what happened here,” the man continued, a sharp stinging sensation underneath his chin indicating that the knife was cutting into his skin, “we will find you and we will kill you.”_

_He kicked Aidan towards the ATM machine, making sure that he and his buddies stayed safely outside of security-camera view, and with uncontrollably shaking hands Aidan straightened his expression and retrieved his wallet from the back-pocket of his jeans. It took everything he had in him to hold back his tears as he entered his four-digit code and retrieved all the money that the machine held. With the thick packet of bills secured tightly in his fist, he turned around and walked away from the machine. He was then surprised by a sudden fist into his stomach, and as he groaned from the pain, another hand grabbed the money out of his hand. Tears sprang into his eyes and he couldn’t stop himself from vomiting and collapsing onto the pavement. One of the men bent forward, his stinking breath making Aidan feel even more nauseous._

_“Thanks for the money, fucker,” was all he hissed, and with a final forceful strike of his fist against his temple, everything turned black._

 

“Dean! Oh for fuck’s sake, _DEAN_!”

Dean yelped when a forceful slap against his cheek finally woke him up, and it took him several seconds to realise what was going on. The lights in his bedroom were switched on and his brother was standing next to his bed, fully dressed but still with messy hair. Dean frowned and he looked at the time on his alarm, which said it was only three a.m.

“The fuck?” he groaned sleepily.

“ _Finally_ you’re awake. Now get dressed and do it quickly, we need to go!”

“W-wha?” Dean mumbled confused when he accepted a pair of jeans and a hoodie from Brett.

“Hospital. They called me, and Aidan’s been brought into the ER. We need to go there right now, so get your arse out of bed.”

“But he went back to Ireland, I saw him leaving…on a jet plane!” Dean said, confused and obviously still not fully awake. Brett sighed deeply and then helped his brother out of bed and into his clothes.

“Well apparently he didn’t, you idiot. I just checked your phone and you’ve got thirty missed calls and God knows how many more messages. Seriously Dean, how many of those pills did you take? They ended up calling me because they couldn’t get to you!”

When Dean didn’t answer, Brett shook his head and steadied his brother by wrapping his arm around his side. Together, they took careful steps towards the bedroom-door.

“Come on, we’ll take my car. It wouldn’t surprise me if yours broke down ten seconds after it finally starts.”

“Hey!” Dean exclaimed insulted, but after a moment of silence the two brothers smiled. Seeing his brother smiling was a big relief for Brett after all the crying and arguing, and he held Dean close as they descended the stairs. He helped him into his jacket and wrapped a thick scarf around his neck before doing the same to himself. He then opened the front door.

“Come on Deano, let’s get Aidan back home. I miss my Irish brother.”

Brett kissed his brother affectionately on his cheek and then helped him out of the apartment.

 

It was nearly five in the morning when the brothers were finally allowed to enter Aidan’s room. To Brett’s shock they had been referred to intensive care when they asked for Aidan Turner, and in the first place only Dean had been allowed to go. Brett wouldn’t have any of that though, so after a lot of arguing and eventually even begging, he was finally given permission to go as well. A nurse then took them to the fourth floor with the elevator and for almost five minutes they walked through the white corridors until they finally reached Aidan’s room. Brett had already extended his arm towards the door-handle, but the nurse was first.

“Mister Turner is recovering from a few serious injuries and he needs to rest, so I will not permit more people than you two to enter his room. A doctor will visit soon to tell you more.”

She then opened the door and let the brothers inside. What they saw in there had both brothers gasping. There was only one bed in the small room in which Aidan lay with his eyes closed either asleep or still unconscious. Attached to both his hands were IV’s and he was hooked to multiple monitors, the bleeping of his heart-rate making the loudest sound of them all. Brett had to hold Dean’s shoulders tightly to stop him from running towards the bed immediately, though he probably would have done the same if it was his girlfriend lying broken in that bed. However, he didn’t want to give the nurse a reason to send them out of the room. He sighed in relief that he could be here for Dean, because he would have hated it if Dean had to go through all of this on his own. His brother needed someone to comfort him, even if he didn’t want to admit it himself, and Brett was happy to be the person to take care of him.

The nurse closed the door behind them, leaving them alone with Aidan. Brett placed a rather comfortable looking chair as close to Aidan’s bed as possible for Dean to sit on while he grabbed a smaller foldaway chair for himself. It hurt Brett to see that Dean was crying already as he took Aidan’s unresponsive hand into his own and rested his cheek on top of it. He couldn’t blame him though, because Aidan did look horrible. His face was swollen and his jaw carried a bruise so big that it was visible through his black stubble. He had scrapes on his cheek and forehead, indicating that he had fallen onto the pavement and his hands were also covered in small cuts and bruises. He didn’t have to guess that more injuries would be hiding underneath the white blankets, and he groaned in empathy. What worried him most though was the large bruise on his left temple, and he was just wondering if Aidan was still unconscious from the impact when he heard someone entering the room. It was a man in his fifties wearing a white coat, and he had small spectacles on his nose. It was obvious that this man was Aidan’s doctor. He smiled apologetically but warmly when he indeed introduced himself as Doctor Jacob Anderson, and he placed another chair next to Dean’s and sat down.

Dean looked up at the doctor with red, puffy eyes and he immediately wanted to trust the man with the white coat. After all, this man would hopefully be the one to cure Aidan and get him back home as soon as possible. He wiped his cheeks dry with his sleeve and waited for the doctor to start talking. The man was going through some files on his lap and when he was done, he took off his glasses and looked at Dean seriously.

“Mister O’Gorman, I was informed by one of the nurses that Mister Turner here had been reported missing, is that correct?”

Dean averted his gaze and nodded.

“How long had he been missing may I ask?”

“S-since the night before l-last, Sir…”

“And do you have any idea why Mister Turner could have been attacked?”

Tears were streaming down Dean’s cheeks again at the painful question, and even though he knew that it was important for the doctor to know how he received these injuries and that he only wanted to help finding the ones who did this to him, it was too difficult for Dean to talk about just yet. Not when Aidan was still in such a bad shape as he was right now. He hiccupped as he tried to find the right words to avoid answering the question.

“I-I don’t know, p-please S-sir, I j-j-just want t-to… please…” Dean was unable to finish his sentence, because he started sobbing uncontrollably. Brett immediately pulled his brother into a protective hug and gave the doctor an unimpressed frown.

“Please Doctor, can’t you just leave Dean alone for a while? We only just arrived here and my brother is obviously very upset about what happened to Aidan. I can talk you through the details another time. One of the officers on Aidan’s case might know even more than we do. All we want to know right now is if he’s going to be alright, please.”

The doctor nodded understandingly and apologised before opening another file. He cleared his throat before he spoke.

“Mister Turner was brought in unconscious at around ten o’clock in the evening by ambulance. He’s been drifting in and out of consciousness all night, which indicates a severe concussion since the incident probably happened at around midnight the previous night. We did a CT-scan which showed some swelling and light bleeding to the brain, but not enough to be able to cause permanent damage. The scan also revealed some internal bleeding to the stomach and two broken ribs, which we highly assume have been caused by violence. Apart from that it’s just minor injuries such as bruises and scratches that should not take longer than a few days to heal. He will remain in IC until he’s regained full consciousness and after that we would like to keep him monitored for a few more days until it’s safe enough to send him home to continue his recovery there. He should make a full recovery within a few weeks; his ribs will most likely take the longest to heal.”

Brett nodded and thanked the doctor, who stood up from his chair to leave.

“A nurse will come to check on the patient once every hour. She should be here in about twenty minutes.”

He shook Dean and Brett’s hands and then left the room. Brett immediately turned to Dean, who had curled himself into a ball in his chair and was crying softly. He wrapped both arms around his shoulders and pulled him closer to his chest, rubbing his back and waiting for him to calm down a bit.

“Hey, _shh_ , it’s alright. Did you hear what the doctor said? Aid is going to be fine, so calm down. Be strong for him, Aidan needs you to be strong…”

He continued to whisper soothing words until Dean eventually stopped crying completely.

“Do you want something for breakfast?” Brett asked, and Dean immediately shook his head.

“Alright then, but I will get you something to eat later, you can’t eat nothing all day even if you haven’t got an appetite. Aidan being in a bad state is bad enough already, and I don’t want to have to deal with a sick brother too.”

Brett kissed Dean lovingly on the top of his head, “I’ll also pick up some clothes and other stuff from your apartment for Aidan and you. Text me if you think of something else you need. I’ll probably be back in a few hours, there’s a lot of people I need to call to say that Aidan’s been found...”

He then left the room, leaving Dean and Aidan alone.

 

Dean waited until the nurse was done with Aidan’s routine check and when she left, he rested his head on top of Aidan’s unresponsive shoulder. He hesitated for a while, wondering if it would be weird to talk to him, but he had once read an article that stated that unconscious people are able to hear you when you talk to them. He had a strong urge to apologise to Aidan for what had happened ever since he had gone missing, and he preferred to do that in privacy. So he gently brushed his fingers over Aidan’s stubbly cheek, careful to avoid the angry bruise that had formed there, and began to whisper.

“Hey babe,” he started nervously and somehow he was disappointed that there was no response.

“I, eh, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for what happened last night…”

He watched Aidan’s chest go up and down as he breathed through his oxygen-mask, and when he had built up enough courage he just told him everything that had been bothering him.

“I should have gone with you, baby. I shouldn’t have let you leave on your own so late at night… I-I’m so sorry Aidan, I even accused you for going back to Ireland without m-me, even though I should have known that you would never do something like that. I love you so much, babe… I should have been the one they b-beat up, it s-should h-h-have been m-me…”

Dean cursed to himself for his emotions and sniffed his nose wetly. “Please open your eyes for me, Aid. Please let me know that you’re there…”

Dean carefully watched Aidan for any sign of consciousness, but there was nothing. He remained still with his eyes closed, his face completely relaxed and obviously oblivious to what was happening around him.

“I-I love you, Aid. P-please come back to me…”

He buried his face into the crease of Aidan’s neck and with his back in a painful angle from the chair he was sitting on, he cried himself to sleep.

 

It was almost midnight and Dean still hadn’t moved from Aidan’s side. He was gently caressing his lover’s knuckles while he stared at his face. The brunet could have been sleeping peacefully if it wasn’t for the fact that Dean couldn’t wake him up, no matter how hard he tried. Brett had stayed with him all day keeping him company and forcing him to eat, but he had gone home a few hours ago, promising he would be back the next morning while Dean would stay the night here with Aidan. He’d have to sleep on a chair with an extra pillow and a few blankets the nurses had kindly given him. It would be an uncomfortable if not a sleepless night, but it was worth it. He wanted to be there when Aidan woke up, he wanted to be the one to comfort him if he was scared, because why wouldn’t he be scared? All the doctors and nurses agreed that Aidan must have been attacked in order to get the injuries he had, and the police were right now doing everything they could to find out more about what happened to Aidan and to catch the ones that are responsible for it. The only one who knew exactly what had happened was now lying in a hospital-bed attached to drips and machines, breathing through a mask and probably high on morphine. Dean miserably laid his head down on Aidan’s bed again and sighed deeply. He couldn’t help a few tears from escaping the corners his eyes. He was surprised that he was still able to cry, the salty tears had left his cheeks red and irritated. Sniffing wetly, he started to talk to Aidan, knowing now that Aidan wouldn’t hear him, but at least it was a comforting thing to do.

“Oh baby…” he started softly, softer than a whisper, “I am so scared…”

He watched Aidan’s chest going up and down at a constant speed and he caressed his lover’s arm with gentle fingers.

“I want you to get better so badly, I want to hold you in my arms and take you back home… I want to take care of you, make you tea and your favourite meals. I just can’t stand seeing you like this baby… I never wanted any of this to happen, especially not to you…”

Dean swallowed hard and wiped a few tears away from his cheeks.

“I-I love you s-so much, Aid. I l-love…y-you…”

Dean buried his face in his hands and cried, trying to keep the volume down but not caring if anyone was looking. He didn’t care that the nurses had told him that he should be going home to get some proper sleep, nor did he care that the doctors said that Aidan needed his rest. He just wanted to be here with the person he loved more than anyone else in this world. He didn’t want Aidan to be alone in a scary hospital-bed. He didn’t want Aidan to be alone ever, though that’s just what he had done. He had let Aidan go to the park all alone, not foreseeing—though he should have—that he could be attacked. He had been so _stupid_ …

Dean’s shoulders shook with every sob and he wondered for a while how ugly he must be looking right now with his puffed eyes and snotty nose. All he wanted to do was to crawl on top of that bed and lie down next to Aidan, holding him in his arms and telling him that everything would be alright. All he could do now was lay his head down on top of Aidan’s shoulder again. Breathing in his scent was gradually calming him down, as was the soft beeping of the machines next to the bed. He hardly noticed that he was dozing off until he realised something was odd. He felt something pressing onto the top of his head that wasn’t supposed to be there, and when he carefully opened his eyes, he gasped in surprise.

“W-what?” he murmured as he looked into a pair of tired, brown eyes.

“Don’t…cry…Deano…,” Aidan croaked weakly, his voice partly muted by the cap covering his mouth and nose, and he continued to gently caress Dean’s hair with his right hand in small movements.

“A-Aidan…” Dean whispered, and he rose up from his chair to temporarily remove Aidan’s oxygen-mask and then pressed his lips lovingly onto his. When he released him shortly after, he broke down again. He finally crawled onto Aidan’s bed and curled into a ball next to his side, clenching at his shoulders and crying into his neck. Aidan moved his hand to Dean’s back and gently rubbed his spine, waiting patiently until Dean stopped crying and fell asleep. He rested his hand on top of Dean’s shoulder and continued to rub small circles with his thumb.

“I…love…you…,” Aidan whispered softly before he lost consciousness again, comforted by the closeness and loving warmth of Dean’s body next to his.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to everyone who has left comments and kudos so far. I love you all! <3


	13. Better When We're Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aidan wakes up and tells his story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Beta-read by the wonderful Finduilas88!**
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Hello everyone! I hope you'll like this chapter. c:
> 
> Love,
> 
> Eá <3

 

Aidan woke the next morning go the sound of Dean’s snoring. Still with his eyes closed, he wanted to turn around in bed to snuggle with Dean but was unable to do so because of the stinging pain in his ribs. He groaned and opened his eyes, gasping when he realised that he was in a hospital bed. Looking down to check himself, he saw that there were IV’s attached to his hands and that he had patches stuck onto his chest. Utterly confused, he removed the oxygen-mask from his face and gazed around the room, wondering what on earth could have happened for him to end up in a hospital-bed. When he glanced down again and saw Dean curled up next to him on the bed, obviously in a deep sleep, he was able to calm down a bit. He carefully lifted his right arm to gently run his fingers through Dean’s messy hair while he watched the older man sleeping. After a few minutes, the blond stirred and opened his eyes a bit. Aidan was then treated to one of Dean’s beautiful, dimpled smiles.

“Hey baby,” Dean said sleepily, and he rose up so that he could kiss Aidan on the lips. “I’m sorry, my breath probably stinks,” he added, and both men chuckled.

“It’s okay,” Aidan said, watching how Dean ruffled his blond hair to try and fix it. He complained when Dean crawled off the bed. Even his puppy-face didn’t work to get the blond to continue their snuggling on the bed, though it did earn him another laugh.

“Sorry Aid, you can’t be comfortable like that. That bed is not made for two.”

Dean climbed back into his chair and leaned over so that he rested both elbows onto the white sheets. He took both of Aidan’s hands into his own and rubbed them gently with his thumbs.

“How do you feel, baby?” he asked Aidan carefully.

Aidan shrugged, “A bit thirsty, I guess. And confused, why am I in a hospital?”

Dean gasped softly at that and gave Aidan a serious look, “You don’t remember what happened?”

“No…” Aidan sighed, and he thanked Dean when he handed him a cup with water which he downed eagerly.

“Well, I can understand you don’t remember. You did take quite a blow to the head…”

“I did?” Aidan asked curiously and he was already moving his arm to touch the angry bruise on his temple.

Dean was quick enough to take that hand away from his head and gently squeeze it.

“Yes, you did. Just relax, it doesn’t matter for now. Do you want some more water?”

Aidan nodded and watched his lover as he moved to the small kitchenette to refill the cup. He was startled a bit when the door suddenly opened and someone entered the room. He had to blink a few times to focus his eyes before he could see that it was Brett, and he smiled brightly when the man approached him and gave him a kiss on his forehead.

“ _You_ , my friend, had us worried sick. Don’t you ever do that again! How do you feel?”

“Fine, I guess. I feel a bit tired. My ribs also hurt and I don’t know why…”

“Hmm, I’ll talk to your doctor about that, he may be able to give you some more painkillers.”

Brett moved away from Aidan’s bedside to meet Dean in the kitchenette. He leaned his head close to Dean’s and whispered softly, “He doesn’t remember anything?”

Dean shook his head sadly, “No, nothing. It may be for the best—at least for now—so he can recover without all the extra stress. Chances are that his memories will come back soon and they can’t be good ones. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”

Dean took the cup of water back to Aidan and sat back into his chair. Brett watched how his brother caressed Aidan’s arm and whispered soothing words to make the brunet feel more comfortable. He wondered how long Aidan had been awake yet, probably not long…

“I’ll, eh…I’ll go talk to your doctor then, Aidan,” Brett said, and he quickly left the room to give his brother and Aidan some privacy.

 

A few hours later, Officer Greg came to visit Aidan in the hospital. He knocked on the door before he entered, and Dean could see from Aidan’s expression that he didn’t understand why a cop would come into his room. Aidan said nothing about it though when he shook the man’s hand. The cop smiled warmly and then introduced himself.

“Hello Aidan, my name is Officer Greg Johnson, but you can just call me Greg.”

Aidan didn’t respond but waited for the man to explain what he was doing here. The cop nodded understandingly, having heard from the doctor that Aidan was suffering from amnesia and had most likely no memory at all of what had occurred on that fateful night. Still it was his duty to get what information he could from him, since there were no witnesses or camera-images found yet that could lead them to the men responsible for Aidan’s injuries. So Greg sat down next to Aidan’s bed and retrieved a notebook and a pen from his bag. He put on his glasses and wrote a few words down before looking back at Aidan, who only frowned at him in confusion.

“Can you tell me the last thing you can remember from the night before last, Aidan?” Greg asked friendly, and Aidan hesitatingly looked at Dean. Dean squeezed his hand gently and nodded, so Aidan stared down at the white blankets covering his legs and made a face, obviously thinking hard.

“I…I remember us fighting…” he started carefully and Greg nodded, encouraging the brunet to continue.

“A-and we had just finally fixed everything when… w-when I left the house…”

“Why did you leave the house, Aidan?” Greg asked when Aidan stopped talking.

“I was going to take a walk, I always take walks and I never… I-I always…”

Aidan shook his head and groaned in frustration, “W-wait just…just give me a moment to clear my head.”

He sighed deeply before resting his chin on top of his knees. He sat like that for minutes in complete silence, the three other men in the room not daring to make a sound. Deep in his thoughts, Aidan absent-mindedly lifted his arms and buried his hands in his hair, flinching when his fingers pressed into the sore bruise on his temple. That’s when his eyes suddenly widened in horror and he stared at Dean in panic.

“Oh no…” he whimpered, and his hands were starting to shake and tears began to roll down his cheeks. Dean immediately took both of Aidan’s hands into his own and squeezed them gently. Brett also walked closer to the bed and leaned over to carefully stroke the Irishman’s hair, both men trying to comfort Aidan from whatever it was that he remembered. Aidan seemed to calm down a bit from the contact, and he accepted a tissue from Greg to blow his nose with.

“Where did you go to after leaving home, Aidan?” Greg asked when he was sure that Aidan had calmed down enough to be able to answer.

Aidan hiccupped when he tried to sniff his nose and allowed Dean to gently dry his cheeks with another soft tissue. After a few seconds, Aidan whispered softly, “I went to the park…”

Greg nodded and watched the brunet carefully, “And did you make it to the park?”

Aidan nodded miserably, his hand finding Dean’s again and he squeezed them hard. He sniffed again before continuing, “T-there were p-people with scooters on t-the path I usually take s-so I went into t-the other d-direction…”

He stared at Dean with sad, watery eyes, “I s-shouldn’t have g-gone the other direction…”

“You couldn’t have known, baby. You couldn’t have known…” Dean whispered soothingly, and he pressed a gentle kiss onto each knuckle of Aidan’s hands.

“Do you remember what happened next, Aidan?” Greg asked friendly, still writing everything down into his small notebook.

“I-I…” Aidan tried to start, but then he stopped and shook his head, “There are p-parts m-missing.”

“What is the next thing you do remember?” Greg gently pushed.

Aidan squeezed his eyes again when he dug into his thoughts, a tear escaping the corner of his eye in the process. Dean carefully wiped it away for him.

“T-there were three m-men, but I-I couldn’t see their faces…”

“They were wearing masks?” Greg asked.

“N-no… b-balaclavas. One of them h-had a knife, I-I remember he had d-dark eyes, b-but I don’t know anything else… I-I couldn’t s-see…”

Aidan absent-mindedly moved his hand to the spot under his chin where the knife had cut through his skin. It was covered with a bandage. He gave Dean a heart-breaking look, “I thought they w-were going t-to…to…”

“ _Shh_ , calm down love, you’re safe now, you’re safe…” Dean soothed when Aidan was threatening to burst into tears again.

“They forced me to use the ATM, and they k-kicked me… I-I can’t remember what happened next…”

“That’s alright, Aidan. You did a great job,” Greg said comfortingly while he scribbled furiously into his notebook.

It remained silent for a few minutes while Greg was going over his notes and Dean was playing with Aidan’s messy curls. Aidan looked around the room to see if there was any form of decoration and only found a potted plant in the corner that looked suspiciously like it was made of plastic. He was startled when Brett suddenly cleared his throat, breaking the silence. Greg looked up from his notebook and gave Brett a questioning look.

“Can I speak with you for a moment, sir?”

The cop nodded and closed his booklet. He straightened his trousers when he stood up from his chair and followed the younger O’Gorman out of the room.

 

When they were in the hallway, at a safe hearing distance from Aidan, Brett asked all the questions that he had been pondering at once.

“Where was he found? How could he have been unconscious and lying somewhere when so many people were looking for him? How could that have happened? What went wrong? Will the people who did it ever be found?”

Greg sighed and shook his head, “He was brought in by ambulance after a passer-by found him and dialled the emergency number. He was found somewhere in a little-used alley, but the curious thing is that it was quite a distance away from the crime scene. My men are looking for evidence in the alley where Aidan last used the ATM machine right now. I sincerely hope they’ll find something that will lead us to the perpetrators. They must have purposely moved Aidan to a place where he would be difficult to find. There is no other explanation I’m afraid…”

Brett pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, “So he was lying in a cold alley all night and day?”

“I’m afraid so,” Greg sighed and he patted Brett on his shoulder, “I assume that anyone who might have seen him there mistook him for a drunk or a junkie and walked on. He was found in an area where such things aren’t uncommon, Brett.”

Brett held up his hands, “Alright, alright. He’s been found now and he’s…well, he could be worse. We can’t change what happened; let’s just get him back home as soon as possible.”

Greg nodded, “We are doing everything we can to trace those who did it and have them punished.”

Brett smiled sadly at the cop and then went back into Aidan’s room alone. The cop made some final notes in his booklet before leaving the hospital to go back to working on the case.

 

Brett took Dean to the hospital’s cafeteria to have something for lunch while Aidan was taking a nap. As he sat down and waited Brett to come back with their food, Dean removed his phone from his pocket and checked his twitter account for the first time since sending the fateful tweet. Since then, his inbox had exploded with messages from fans. He read one particular message from a fan telling him that Aidan was found, and he wanted to hit himself on the head when he saw that it was sent to him a few hours before he had found out about it himself. He sighed in frustration before starting a new tweet:

_Thanks for all the love and support. Aidan has been found and is safe. He is still in hospital but he will come home very soon._

Just when he sent his tweet, a plate with a sandwich was set down in front of him along with a cup of mint tea. He thanked Brett and took small sips of the hot liquid while watching his brother taking bites of his bread. Dean still didn’t have an appetite after all that happened, and when his brother noticed that he wasn’t eating he gave him a disapproving glance.

“You should eat, Deano. You’re losing weight.”

Dean frowned at his brother and then looked down at his plate. The sandwich looked appealing but it still made him feel nauseous.

“I…I can’t, Brett.”

He pushed the plate forward and continued to sip his tea. Brett frowned back at him but didn’t lose his temper. Dean couldn’t remember Brett ever losing his temper, at least not at him. For some reason that only added up to the guilt that Dean was dealing with.

“Do you want some soup then? I saw on the menu that they have chicken soup, that might be a bit easier for you to eat than a sandwich.”

Dean nodded and watched how Brett left the table to get some soup for him. When Brett came back and placed the steaming bowl in front of him, Dean smiled and whispered a soft ‘thank you’.

“It’s fine, Dean. I understand you still feel like shit, but I just can’t stand seeing you like this. Even though Aidan’s going through a rough time you still need to take care of yourself.”

Dean looked down and took another small sip of his tea. He felt he needed to say something, but he had no idea which words to use. It felt like no words could ever describe what he wanted and needed to say.

“I, eh…”

Brett looked up and met Dean’s eyes. He smiled when he saw his brother struggling, “Yes, Dean?”

Dean swallowed and looked down at the table again, “I just wanted to say thank you for everything you’ve done for me and Aidan. I don’t know what on earth I would have done without you…”

Dean wiped a stray tear away from his cheek and looked back at Brett, “Y-you really are t-the k-kindest person I have e-ever known…”

“Oh Deano…” Brett sighed and he leaned forward to take Dean’s hands into his, “You know I love you, brother, and you know I love Aidan too. You don’t have to thank me for my help, I’m your brother and I’m supposed to help you.”

He squeezed Dean’s hands, “I _want_ to help you, I would do anything for you. I could never have just let you go through all of this on your  own. It would have hurt me tremendously if I couldn’t have been here for you.”

Dean nodded and blew his nose with the paper napkin that came with his sandwich.

“You know I’m always there for you, so stop crying. You’ve done enough crying already. Here,”

Dean chuckled softly when Brett pushed the bowl of chicken soup a little closer to him and he took the spoon that his brother gave him.

“Enjoy that soup while it’s still hot, and stop worrying about everybody else. Aidan’s being taken care of and I’m only glad I can be here for you. And don’t make me hand-feed you that soup, because you know very well that I will.”

Dean grinned and finally started eating.

 

Brett made sure that Dean had finished all of his soup before paying the bill and taking his brother back to the fourth floor. Before they went back inside of Aidan’s room, he pulled Dean into a hug and gently rubbed his back.

“Are you going to be strong for me?” he asked, and he felt Dean nodding.

“Good, I’m going home for a few hours so that you can spend some time alone with Aidan. I’ll bring dinner for you when I’m back. Does that sound good?”

Dean nodded again, and Brett gave his brother kiss onto his brow before he left, giving his brother some well-deserved privacy with Aidan.

 

When Dean went back into Aidan’s room, his lover had already woken up from his nap. He walked towards the bed and sat down in his usual chair, resting his arms onto Aidan’s bed. Aidan was staring out of the window, and Dean wondered for a moment if his lover had even realised he was there, but after a few seconds Aidan finally turned his head around to face Dean. His eyes were filled with sadness, causing a lump to form in Dean’s throat.

“I’m so sorry, Dean…” Aidan whispered, and he carefully moved his hand to touch Dean’s fingers. “Are you m-mad at me..?”

Dean gasped at the question and he rose from his chair to kiss Aidan tenderly. His heart broke when Aidan started crying and wrapped his strong arms around his back. Dean tried to comfort him by whispering loving words into his ear, but nothing seemed enough to get Aidan to stop crying.

“I-I’m so s-sorry, I d-don’t want t-to l-l-lose you Dean…”

“Hey, what is this?” Dean said and he held Aidan’s face with both his hands, forcing the younger man to look into his eyes, “Why do you think you’ll lose me, baby?”

Aidan sniffed sadly, tears still streaming down his cheeks, “Y-you t-t-thought I’d l-left…you thought I-I went b-back to I-Ireland without y-you…”

Dean swallowed hard at Aidan’s words, “You heard me?”

Aidan nodded, his messy curls dancing at the movement, “I-I would n-never have d-done that…”

“Oh I know baby and I’m so sorry, I was so stupid…” Dean soothed, climbing on top of the bed and resting his head on Aidan’s shoulder, careful not to put any of his weight on top of his sore ribs. He brushed some dark locks away from his lover’s face and wiped away a few tears. Aidan rested his cheek on top of Dean’s head.

“W-were you s-scared?”

“I was very scared, but probably not as scared as you.”

Aidan shook his head, “I-I was s-strong,” he looked down into Dean’s blue eyes and grinned, “D-didn’t even make a s-sound.”

“They hurt you, didn’t they Aid?”

Aidan shrugged and wiped his cheeks dry with the back of his hand, “It’s fine, Dean. I’m a-alright now.”

Aidan pulled Dean closer and ran his fingers through his blond curls, “It’s always better when we’re together…”

Dean grinned and yawned, “I’m so proud of you, baby. I’m so very proud of you.”

Aidan yawned too, at which Dean laughed, “I infected you.”

“I’ll get you back for that later.”

The two men chuckled and all warm and cuddled up, they soon fell into a peaceful sleep.

 

 

The next few days went by fast. Aidan had been moved out of the ICU and was getting a little bit better every day and Dean finally able to let go of his guilt. Brett had come to the hospital for a visit, and the three men had just had dinner together and were playing a game of cards when Aidan’s doctor came into the room. Aidan smiled the brightest when he greeted the doctor, who took a chair and placed it next to his bed.

“Hello Aidan, how are you feeling?”

Aidan smiled and turned around in bed to face the doctor, “Much better, thank you.”

The doctor retrieved a form from his board and pointed at it with his finger, “I just signed this form, which means that you are allowed to go home tomorrow morning. We’re confident that you have recovered enough from your concussion to continue your recovery at home. You have to promise me to take it slow, though. Can you promise me that?”

Aidan agreed immediately and he shook the doctor’s hand.

“Alright then. Sleep well tonight, Aidan. You too, gentlemen.”

He shook the brother’s hands as well and then left the room. It took only seconds for Dean to jump on top of Aidan’s bed and pull him into a tight hug.

“You’re coming home, you’re finally coming home!” Dean exclaimed and he pampered Aidan’s face with kisses.

Brett smiled at the happiness and laughter coming from the two and knowing they wouldn’t be continuing their card-game, he started cleaning up the mess they’d made all evening. They’d had McDonalds for dinner at Aidan’s urging and he was sure that the nurses were going to kill them for the strawberry-milkshake stains on the once white bedding. When all the mess was cleaned up and he’d done his best to straighten the bedclothes, he stood up from his chair.

“It’s getting late, boys, and I’m heading back home. I’ll come back tomorrow morning to take you home with my car, okay?”

“Yeah please do, we can’t possibly leave with Dean’s car. We wouldn’t make it past the parking lot.”

Brett and Aidan burst into laughter at that, and they laughed even harder at Dean’s insulted expression. Dean knew how to get his revenge though, and he quickly leaned forward to grasp one of Aidan’s bare feet and gave it a good tickle, not stopping before Aidan was begging for mercy.

“I really hate you, you know that?” Aidan muttered, rubbing the bottom of his poor foot.

“Aww, I hate you too baby,” Dean teased, leaning forward to pull his lover into a kiss that gradually became more and more passionate.

Brett shifted uncomfortably, and when he realised that the two men were not planning to stop kissing anytime soon, he quickly left the room to go home. It took a few minutes for the two men to notice that Brett was gone, and Aidan chuckled.

“I don’t think he’s coming back.”

Dean grinned widely and winked, “Guess what that means?”

Aidan slapped Dean playfully at that and pulled him closer to him onto the bed. The men cuddled together on the hospital-bed, laughing and chatting about whatever came to mind until they were both so tired that they fell into a deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't be shy to leave a comment, I love to hear from you! c: x


	14. You Are Safe With Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aidan is released from hospital. The attack still lingers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Beta-read by the wonderful Finduilas88!**
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> I am so sorry this took so long. I really am. I don't have any excuses apart from this chapter not wanting to be written down. But now it finally is, and I hope you'll like it or at least don't hate it.
> 
> Love,
> 
> Eá <3

 

Aidan muttered disapprovingly when a nurse shook him awake early the next morning for a final check before he would be allowed to go home. When after nearly twenty minutes she was finally content, she left him alone to get dressed into his own clothes. _God,_ it had been almost a week since he had last worn a proper pair of jeans, and Aidan jokingly asked Dean if his bottom still looked good in them as he turned around to check himself. Dean assured him with help of a lingering kiss that it most certainly did. Brett came by an hour later to pick Aidan and Dean up with his car and dropped them off at their apartment. Aidan had been shifting in his seat excitedly the whole time, slapping his knees nervously and humming to himself, driving Dean so crazy that in the end, he took both Aidan’s hands in his left and used his right to cover up Aidan’s mouth, enjoying a few blissful seconds of silence before Aidan burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Once they were finally at the door of their apartment, Dean quickly opened the door and sprinted inside. He had refused to leave Aidan alone ever since he was admitted to the hospital, much to his brother’s disapproval, and he had slept many uncomfortable nights in the armchair next to Aidan’s bed. The first thing he noticed when he set foot into the living room was the absence of any noise, such as the loud barking of a particularly big dog. It was completely quiet, and it made Dean feel a bit uneasy.

“Where’s Battie?” Aidan asked from behind him as he wrapped his arms around Dean and rested his chin on his shoulder. Dean was just about to open his mouth to ask Brett the same thing when his brother answered.

“Oh don’t worry about him, he’s at my place. Couldn’t leave him here all by himself could I? You can come pick him up anytime or I can bring him over when you two are settled and ready to take care of him again. Until then I’m happy to do so myself. He’s been a good boy.”

Dean smiled thankfully at his brother and helped Aidan towards the couch. Brett followed them towards the sitting area, quickly shoving the disturbing memory of the cops questioning them only days ago from his mind as he sat down on the smaller couch.

“You are staying for tea, right Brett?” Aidan asked once they were all comfortable.

“Tea would be nice, but I can’t stay for too long though. I have a da-, eh, an appointment later today.”

“Does that appointment happen to concern a certain girl named Lily?” Dean teased as he stood up from the couch to make tea in the kitchen, missing how Brett’s ears suddenly became very red. Aidan did notice it, of course he did, and he leaned closer towards Brett in sudden interest.

“Who’s Lily? What did I miss now?” he asked curiously, standing up from the couch he was sitting on to take place next to Brett when he didn’t answer immediately. He then whispered softly, “I could just ask Dean, you know. He’d tell me anything…”

Brett elbowed him against his shoulder but laughed anyway. “She’s just a girl from work, nothing special.”

“Oh, is she really?” Dean called from the kitchen, “Didn’t you say that she was the most beautiful girl you had ever seen?”

“I said she was _nice_ , you bloody idiot,” Brett muttered, face reddening more with every second. Aidan laughed in amusement but decided not to join in the teasing. After a few minutes, Dean came back from the kitchen with their tea and gave everyone a steaming mug before sitting back down on his usual spot. They chatted while they drank their beverages about whatever came to mind, carefully avoiding any subjects that could trigger a panic reaction from Aidan, even though the Irishman had repeatedly claimed he was feeling fine and that he didn’t need to be taken care of, apart from maybe an arm to lean on while climbing the stairs since his ribs were still a bit painful.

After about an hour, Brett took his leave. Dean and Aidan promised to come over soon to pick up Batman. After an exchange of hugs and kisses, Dean teasingly made his brother promise to bring his date home tonight, which earned him a playful slap against the head, before he waved him goodbye and closed the door behind him. Dean could feel a slight tension rising up between him and Aidan now that Brett was gone, but Aidan didn’t seem to feel it as he leaned forward to gently press his lips on top of his. Dean caressed Aidan’s jaw as he leaned into the contact and moaned softly when Aidan did the same. When they broke apart, he ran his fingers lovingly through his boyfriend’s dark curls and asked, “What do you want to do today, love?”

Aidan smiled and shrugged, “Some snuggling on the couch would be nice. It’s not as if I’ve got much else to do…”

And indeed he didn’t, because the doctor had said that he’d have to be very careful for at least two weeks to make sure that his ribs and head would fully heal. That meant no working and no exhausting or dangerous activities. Not that he had any work or extreme hobbies or anything. Well, he just secretly hoped that his and Dean’s sex-life didn’t count as one.

So Aidan let Dean pull him back towards the couch, where once they were sitting he rested his head comfortably on Dean’s lap. Dean turned the TV on just for the sake of background-noise and shifted a bit until he was comfortable as well. Aidan sighed at their closeness and he shut his eyes, enjoying the warmth of his lover’s body against him. He’d missed this feeling of closeness between them. For weeks they had almost done nothing but mutter to each other, going to bed at different times and fighting over stupid things such as work and the remote control. Now that he was finally back home—thank _God_ he made it home—he could enjoy the love he felt for Dean again in the privacy of their little apartment. And yes, he loved him so very much…

Dean grinned lovingly when Aidan shivered as he gently ran his fingers through his lover’s hair, lightly scraping his skull with his nails. Though his heart was warm with the love he felt for the Irishman who was dozing off quickly on his lap, he just couldn’t ignore that nasty feeling of worry pestering him. The coldness in his chest that gave him the shivers. Dean just couldn’t help but find it suspicious that Aidan was behaving so cheerfully and happily the past couple of days. He couldn’t help but notice how Aidan ignored all questions about how he felt and how he would quickly change the topic of conversation when it was getting to close to that fateful night. Even though Aidan told him frequently that he was fine, that he wasn’t scared anymore and that it could have happened to anyone, Dean just couldn’t believe that he was fully over it. He couldn’t have been over it yet, he’d hardly spent one day crying over what happened and that was it. He just hoped he is wrong and that Aidan wasn’t purposely hiding or suppressing his feelings to protect him as he suspects.

 

When Aidan woke up from his nap an hour later, they both got up to make something for dinner. They ended up making some spaghetti with ketchup and canned corn since that was pretty much the only food they could find in the back of their fridge and cupboards, and it didn’t even taste as bad as they had feared. When their plates were clean and their cups of tea empty, Dean took his laptop under one arm and wrapped his other tightly around Aidan’s shoulders and they went upstairs to spend the rest of the evening in pyjamas in their bedroom. They quickly brushed their teeth before crawling under the soft covers, where Dean immediately wrapped an arm and a leg around Aidan to keep him nice and warm. They placed Dean’s laptop on the nightstand next to the bed and started a movie, which turned out to be the first film of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. All warm and cuddled up, Dean didn’t make it much further than the first half hour of the movie before he was fast asleep, and Aidan didn’t make it until the end either. By the time the credits were being shown, both men were deeply asleep in each other’s arms.

 

_“If you make one sound,” the shadow hissed at him, “just one sound…”_

_Aidan didn’t hear the rest of the sentence._

_He could hear as much as he could see._

_Absolutely nothing._

_Everything was pitch black, and all he could feel was the cold._

_The intense cold that made the hairs on his arms stand up._

_It was biting at his fingertips._

_It made his feet feel numb._

_Then suddenly, a loud noise startled him._

**_‘BANG’_ **

_With a yelp, he turned around and around, searching for the origins of the sound._

_But there was nothing._

_Everything was dark._

_Then suddenly, out of nowhere it came._

_He cried when he felt it._

_And then he felt it again._

_That coldness, the sharp tip against his throat._

_The burn it left behind when it dug into his skin._

_He could feel pressure on his shoulders, the grip tightening with every second._

_But when he looked down, he only saw his own shaking hands._

_He stared at his trembling fingers._

_And then it returned._

_“One sound…” the whispering continued, cutting through the air and leaving goose bumps on the back of his neck._

_“One sound, and I will cut your throat.”_

_And then it happened._

_A blinding pain that made him scream._

_A stinging, ripping burn across his throat, spreading until it reached the tips of his toes._

_He saw red, lots and lots of red, and it was everywhere._

_He felt the wetness running down his neck._

_Onto his chest._

_Dripping onto his hands._

_And he gargled desperately when it filled his lungs._

_It was absolutely everywhere, and he could feel it draining him._

_Draining his strength from him._

_He felt his knees weaken, his breathing getting shallower as he screamed and shouted._

_And then with a loud smack, he collapsed onto the cold stones._

**_‘BANG’_ **

_He cried out while his life leaked out of him with every drop._

_Cried until he could no more._

_He vaguely felt someone shaking him, calling his name, but he felt numb._

_He felt weak._

_He felt dead…_

 

 _“AIDAN!”_ Dean shouted desperately, shaking the Irishman’s shoulders with increasing force until finally with a loud scream, his lover snapped out of his nightmare. Aidan’s entire body was shaking and he immediately wrapped his arms tightly around Dean’s neck and began to sob uncontrollably.

“Oh baby, oh love…” Dean whispered, heartbroken, and he tightened his hold on his lover, gently rubbing his hands up and down his back and shoulders, “Just… just let it out, love. It’s okay, I’m here now. You are safe with me…”

Dean was afraid his heart might escape from his chest, since it was beating so fast that it made him feel slightly light-headed. He had been sleeping soundly when suddenly Aidan started shifting in his sleep, kicking him awake. He’d tried to wake him up from whatever dream it was that bothered him by softly kissing his forehead and petting his hair. He didn’t expect Aidan to suddenly start screaming. The brunet continued to scream, shifting and kicking in his sleep until Dean started to panic when he couldn’t wake him up. Nothing worked…

When Aidan started to calm down a bit, Dean still refused to let go of him. He rested his cheek on top of Aidan’s shoulder and held him tight, relieved that Aidan was here with him but also deeply concerned about him at the same time. He knew that Aidan probably didn’t want to talk about his dream, he always refused to talk about his nightmares, but he still needed to ask. He just needed to know.

“Baby, do you want to talk about it?” he asked carefully, and indeed he felt Aidan shaking his head furiously.

“N-no. I’m fine, please, it… i-it was just a nightmare. A s-silly dream. Nothing to w-worry about.”

“Are you sure, babe? You know I wouldn’t laugh at you, I would never do something like that…”

But still Aidan continued to shake his head. Dean then loosened his grip on Aidan’s arms and placed both hands on his lover’s cheeks, looking into his eyes. Aidan didn’t look away, which he thought was a good thing.

“I love you, Aid. I’ll help you through this, okay? Let’s just watch a movie on the couch and cuddle a bit, or do you want to try to go back to sleep?”

Aidan shook his head and smiled when Dean kissed him on the tip of his nose. He then followed his lover out of the bedroom and down the stairs.

 

They ended up watching TV together until dawn and sleeping on the couch with their limbs tangled around each other until they woke up in the afternoon with rumbling stomachs the next day. Dean insisted Aidan stay on the couch while he quickly went to the corner shop to get some groceries for an early dinner. He was relieved that the cashier was not the same lady that was working there on the day he could safely say was one of the worst days of his life. He was quite sure that he would have run out of the shop and taken the bus to another supermarket if the lady had been working. Anything that reminded him of that fateful day, even the smallest of things made his stomach turn. He just wanted to forget about it all and move on. Feeling relieved, he quickly filled his basket with various fruits and vegetables, some pasta and other things they needed. Oh, and an extra-large packet of caramel ice-cream—you know, just in case.

When he returned home, he boiled water for the spaghetti and put a pan on the stove for the sauce. He smiled lovingly when he saw Aidan curled up on the couch either asleep or dozing, so he relaxed onto the free couch until the kitchen beeper went off, indicating that dinner was ready. He chuckled when Aidan yelped as he was startled awake by the sound, and together they went into the kitchen to finish dinner and fill the plates. It took a remarkably short time for the men to empty their plates and when Dean surprised Aidan with a big scoop of ice-cream for dessert, Aidan continued to smile for the rest of the evening.

 

The next day, they both went to Brett’s to pick up Batman. They stayed for lunch while they chatted about work and photography. It wasn’t long though before Brett couldn’t help himself and asked Aidan how he was doing.

“Yeah, I’m feeling fine. Surprisingly good, really!” he answered quickly with a lot of excitement, and he immediately took a big bite out of his sandwich afterwards.

Brett raised an eyebrow at Dean, who shook his head at him in a quiet request to leave the subject alone. He had promised to call Brett every now and then to let him know how things were going at home, and he was going to tell him about Aidan’s nightmare somewhere a bit more private. Somewhere without Aidan, at least.

“Okay. That’s good to hear, Aid. You know you could tell me anything, right?”

Aidan nodded with a smile, but Dean couldn’t help but notice how Aidan stared miserably at his plate until the end of the meal.

 

When they were back home, Aidan insisted on taking Batman out for a walk. Dean immediately said he was going to go with him, that he didn’t want Aidan to go out alone yet, and that very nearly resulted into an argument when Aidan asked Dean to _for fuck’s sake_ stop treating him like a child. Before it could get out of hand, Aidan grabbed his coat and went out the door with Batman without saying another word. Frustrated, Dean buried his hands in his hair and pulled hard until he felt pain. For some reason the stinging sensation made him feel slightly better.

He knew this was going to happen. He knew that he was going to grow overprotective of Aidan, and he also knew that it was wrong of him to do so. Aidan was a grown man, and he was allowed to do what he wanted. _As long as he’s safe…_

Dean angrily kicked his shoes off and stormed towards his desk. He turned on the computer and when the Google search-page opened, he closed his eyes and just did it.

_‘Houses for rent in London’_

He searched and searched for almost half an hour until the front door creaked open and was then shut again. He quickly closed the tabs (not before adding a few pages to his bookmarks, though), and sat down onto the couch and waited until Aidan came back into the living room. A few minutes later, Aidan indeed slowly shuffled inside and with his head low; he crawled onto the couch and curled up next to him. Dean held him close, wrapping both his arms around Aidan’s shoulder. He was half expecting the younger man to start crying, but all Aidan did was release a big sigh.

“I’m sorry…” he mumbled softly, still not looking Dean into the eyes.

Dean pressed a soft kiss onto his cheek and then another one on his lips, “Don’t be, I was stupid. I shouldn’t be so protective but I just can’t help it. I’m sure it’ll blow over soon.”

Aidan just nodded and said nothing else. He just leaned against Dean’s shoulder and let himself be comforted by his lover’s warmth and the hand gently rubbing his back.

 

After dinner, Dean put Aidan to bed for a nap while he returned to his computer to do more research on moving. He had already found a nice two-floor house not far away from where their good friend Adam lived, reasonably priced in a beautiful location so he was already bouncing from excitement. Yes, it would be difficult to leave New Zealand, but he was sure that he would find good work in England and together he and Aidan would probably make enough money to be able to visit his homeland once every few years. He’d just have to wait for the right moment to bring it all up to Aidan again, so he printed out the page for safekeeping and continued researching. He needed to know what he had to do in order to be able to move to England, and he suspected that this would be the hardest part of it all. He remembered all too well how much trouble Aidan had getting his Visa and sorting everything out before he was finally able to leave Ireland. He feared the worst when he started his search.

_‘Moving from New Zealand to the United Kingd’_

Dean jumped when he suddenly heard Aidan screaming from their bedroom upstairs, and his heart was thumping fast in his ears when he heard his lover running down the stairs. With wide eyes, he watched the door to the living room thrown open and within seconds he had a sobbing Irishman in his arms.

Dean was sure his heart had stopped beating for a few seconds, stunned at the sudden turn of events. So when he was sure he could walk, he took small steps to lead Aidan towards the couch, where he let Aidan snuggle into his neck. His skin was soon wet from Aidan’s tears, and he felt a stab of desperation when Aidan dug his fingers into his shoulders as if his life depended on it.

“Oh baby, please tell me what’s wrong?” he pleaded, but Aidan stubbornly shook his head and held on tighter.

Dean sighed but let his lover get away with it. He didn’t really need an answer. He thought he knew exactly what was going on, and he felt at an absolute loss of what to do to help him with it. He’d have to call Aidan’s doctor, Dean thought. He would probably be able to help him with this, maybe prescribe him some medicine or suggest a professional he could talk to.

Dean promised himself to call Dr. Anderson the first thing next morning, because he was afraid that if he left Aidan alone right now, even if it was only a second, something bad would happen to him. So Dean leaned sideways to grab the folded blanket on the armrest and wrapped the fabric tightly around the both of them. He rubbed Aidan’s back soothingly until he was sure that Aidan was asleep again. He then wrapped his arms tightly around his lover’s shoulders and just stared sightlessly in front of him, feeling himself growing smaller and smaller as the strain of his worries consumed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who's still reading this story and has left kudos and/or comments. You are too kind <3
> 
> I know I said no more angst, but this kind of had to happen... I think that at least the smut may come back the next chapter. Once they've moved to London things will be a lot better. I have some fun things planned for the boys to do! x


	15. I Missed You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys make up for lost time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Beta-read by the wonderful Finduilas88!**
> 
>  
> 
> Eh... well hi there!
> 
> I'm sorry for being such a douchebag and updating so late. I have excuses, but you probably don't want to hear them. I promise the next chapter will be longer, I wanted to update for you and making this chapter longer would only have made the waiting longer...
> 
> So I'm sorry, I really am sorry! x

 

It had been three weeks since Aidan had been diagnosed with PTSD. Three weeks of seeing a psychologist two times per week. Three weeks of taking medicine and going to bed right after dinner. Three weeks of emotional pain that not only haunted the Irishman, where he relived the robbery almost every night in his dreams, but also during the day. It was almost as if he was living his life in a bubble. He tended to shut himself down from everyone and everything, and it happened more than once per day that Dean had to snap him out of a daze, or that he caught himself staring into the nothingness. His psychologist, Dr July Newman, was fortunately a very kind woman who would listen to the same story uncountable times and still offer him the comfort that would help him through the next few days until he saw her again. She assured him that he would be alright, and the more she told him so, the more he started to feel that way.

So after three weeks, he hadn’t had a nightmare for four nights in a row and Dean had decided that they needed to celebrate this over a nice dinner he had cooked for Aidan all by himself. And it wasn’t pasta, and it wasn’t soup either. No, it was a beautiful and romantic three-course meal, altogether with a bouquet of tulips in the middle of the table and a white button-up shirt on Dean.

 

So with a coke in Aidan’s hand and a beer in Dean’s, they sat together on the couch to rest their full stomachs. Aidan was leaning against Dean’s shoulder with his legs curled up underneath him, and they sat like that for a while in silence until Dean noticed that Aidan was staring again. He gently pressed a kiss on his lover’s cheek, at which the younger man jumped slightly and blushed.

“Sorry, I just…” he started, but Dean shut him up by kissing him tenderly on the lips, tipping his head to the side to get better access to his lover’s full lips.

When they broke apart, Aidan smiled and shyly averted his gaze, “You know, I was just thinking, I’ve really missed us being this close…”

Aidan cleared his throat and took a sip of his drink, “We haven’t really been able to, you know, do anything since…since…”

“Shh,” Dean whispered, claiming Aidan’s mouth again in a loving kiss, “I understand, I really do. We can wait until you’re all better. We _should_ wait until you’re better.”

But Aidan stubbornly shook his head and crawled closer until he was practically sitting on Dean’s lap. He pressed his lips onto Dean’s again and explored the mouth he had missed so much with his tongue until he had to push back for breath. He smiled when he noticed that Dean was also panting and holding his shoulders firmly.

“Are you sure?” Dean asked with a cautious frown, and with a cheeky grin Aidan grabbed Dean’s hand and lowered it until it touched the bulge in his jeans.

That was the only confirmation Dean needed to lift Aidan all the way onto his lap and attack his lips with a greedy kiss. Groaning with need, Aidan held Dean’s cheeks and let the older man deepen the contact, moaning when their tongues touched and started a passionate dance. It didn’t take long before Dean was tugging at the bottom of Aidan’s shirt. They broke apart only to quickly pull their shirts off before they pressed their warm chests against each other and continued. Dean gasped when Aidan trailed a line of kisses along his jawline and neck, reaching further down to tease at his nipples, nipping at them with his teeth and extracting all sorts of inappropriate yet gorgeous noises from the back of his throat.

“Aid…” Dean groaned uncomfortably when Aidan continued to suck at his hardened nipple, and almost on cue the younger man reached down to open the zipper on his jeans and released the pressure from his growing erection.

Mischievous brown eyes met lusty blue when Aidan’s fingers very slowly started to pull down the blue fabric down that was covering the flesh that was aching for attention. Dean cursed with a laugh at his lover’s teasing, and after a short but longing kiss, Aidan finally pulled Dean’s jeans and boxers all the way down and threw them somewhere towards the kitchen. Aidan grinned and studied his naked lover on their couch before leaning down to playfully bite at Dean’s lower belly. Kissing the skin and reaching lower and lower, he finally reached his favourite part of Dean’s body.

“ _Please_ , please I would… I’d do anything,” Dean begged in between moans when Aidan began to lick and tease the tip of his lover’s erection, and he grinned around the head of his cock at hearing his desperation. He then finally reached down to take in as much of his lover as he could, feeling the tip making contact with the back of his throat before sucking hard at every upwards motion. He giggled at the shameless sounds his lover made, the vibration only increasing the sensation that made Dean completely forget about the world around him. Drowning in the pleasure his lover was giving him, it took an embarrassingly short time before he gasped and came with an intense shudder and Aidan’s name on his lips.

Aidan didn’t stop his treatment until he was absolutely sure that Dean was done before he moved away from his lover’s softening member. He grinned cheekily as he watched how his lover was panting trying to catch his breath, feeling more than a bit proud of his achievement. After a few minutes, he let himself fall on top of Dean and kissed him needy, still feeling very aroused and even more so after giving his lover an orgasm.

“Do you…”

“Are you…”

They stopped kissing to burst out laughing, and Dean’s heart fluttered at seeing his lover so relaxed, clearly enjoying himself.

“Do you need some help with…that?” Dean tried again, eying his lover’s very tight pants with a wink. He didn’t wait for an answer though and was already attacking Aidan’s belt and started pulling down the fabric.

He licked his lips teasingly as he made eye-contact, reading the silent request to _just hurry the fuck up_ from his lover’s brown eyes before lowering himself and sliding his lips over Aidan’s already leaking erection.

With expert sucks, Dean worked his way up and down his lover’s shaft. Pushing down on Aidan’s hips with his hands so that he wouldn’t choke he tried his best to pull the most beautiful sounds from his lover. When Aidan started to work his hands through his short curls he groaned around his lover’s cock. He looked up at Aidan’s face, eyes dark with lust and his lips red and moist from their kissing and him licking them repeatedly.

“ _Fuck_ , that’s it, just like that…”

Aidan continued to mumble inaudible words when Dean increased his speed and started to play with his lover’s balls, and shortly after he felt them pulling up higher, Aidan shouted his name when he came.

Breathing heavily, Aidan closed his eyes and held out his arms, at which Dean grinned and climbed on top of him. He immediately pressed his lips down onto Aidan’s, sharing lazy kisses and enjoying the closeness until Aidan started to complain about a full bladder. Dean muttered but stood to let Aidan get up and reach the bathroom. He felt only a little bit embarrassed when it took him quite some time to find his underwear, and when he found them he pulled them on quickly and made his way upstairs to their bedroom. There he fell down heavily on top of the blankets, and he buried his face into his pillow and closed his eyes. After a few minutes, he heard the door creaking open. Expecting Aidan to lie down next to him, he yelped loudly when instead his lover jumped on top of his back and started to attack his bare sides with wiggling fingers.

“ _Hey_! Aidan, n-no, NO DON’T TICKLE ME!”

Trying desperately to turn around and escape from the attack, Dean found himself trapped underneath Aidan’s weight and unable to get away from his tickling fingers.

“That’s your punishment for running away from me like that!” Aidan teased, grinning widely as he poked and pinched at his lover’s ticklish sides.

“ _Nohoho_ , Aidan p-please stop! _Stahahap!_ ”

With all his strength he finally managed to push Aidan off him. He turned him around and quickly pinned his arms down with his knees.

“That’s it!” Dean hissed playfully, biting at the tip of Aidan’s nose, “you are so dead now!”

Grinning mischievously, he teasingly wriggled his fingers before digging them into his lover’s vulnerable ribs. Aidan’s beautiful laughter sounded so good to his ears that he couldn’t make himself stop tickling him until Aidan was sweating and begging him to stop. So reluctantly he let himself fall down on top of his lover’s chest and kissed him until he was out of breath.

“That’s what you get for fooling around with me, love,” Dean teased, pressing a soft kiss on the tip of Aidan’s nose.

“I love how ticklish you are. It’s cute,” Aidan grinned, poking at Dean’s dimples when the Kiwi looked down and blushed.

“If you ever do that again…” Dean threatened, but was unable to finish when Aidan pushed him back into the mattress and kissed him, running his fingers through his blond hair.

“Then what?” Aidan teased, biting softly at his bottom lip and looking up at him with big eyes. Dean laughed and pulled him back into a passionate kiss, moaning when Aidan pressed his hips down onto his.

 

The next morning Aidan was the first to wake up. Yawning and stretching, he sleepily turned around and buried his face into Dean’s neck.

“Hmm?” the Kiwi mumbled.

“I love you,” Aidan whispered softly, pressing a few wet kisses into his lover’s neck, making the blond chuckle.

Dean turned around until his nose was pressed against Aidan’s. His eyes were puffy from sleep, but they were still so beautiful it made Aidan’s heart skip a beat.

“I love you too,” Dean said, resting his head on top of Aidan’s chest and letting his eyes slip shut again. He sighed deeply when Aidan gently ran his fingers through his hair, enjoying how the sensation sent shivers down his spine.

“You know, I have been thinking…” Aidan started, running his fingers softly down the back of his lover’s neck, “We haven’t really talked anymore about, you know…”

Dean opened his eyes lazily and looked at Aidan questioningly.

“Moving,” Aidan whispered so softly it was almost impossible to hear.

Dean smiled and crawled closer to Aidan, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and hugging him close. He cupped Aidan’s cheek and slowly pulled him into a soft kiss. When they broke apart, Dean took both of Aidan’s hands into his own.

“I was waiting for the right moment to bring it up myself. I didn’t want to push you into anything after what happened…”

Aidan nodded and rested his head on Dean’s arm, “What do you want to do?”

“Me? I want to do anything that makes you happy, Aid.”

“No…” Aidan muttered, and he raised his head from Dean’s shoulder to give him a stern look.

“What do _you_ want? It’s not easy to move away from your homeland. I can tell you that, we need to think this through if we want it to work out.”

Dean sighed and let them both fall back down onto the mattress, “We’ll talk about it later today, alright? Let’s just lie here a bit longer, enjoy each other…”

Aidan grinned and wrapped his arms around Dean’s chest to pull him closer to him, “Enjoy each other you say, hmm?”

Dean hummed sleepily before gasping when he felt Aidan pinching at one of his nipples, “ _Aid_..!”

“ _Shh_ ,” Aidan soothed, letting his hand trail down Dean’s body and creeping under his boxers, loving how his lover gasped softly when he wrapped his hand around his already growing erection.

“Let me show you how much I love you.”

Dean groaned when the hand around his cock slowly worked its magic, twisting at just the right places and at the exact speed that Aidan knew he liked.

“ _God_ … the things you do to me…” Dean moaned softly, pushing his head back into Aidan’s chest when he sped up a bit.

“Yeah, you like it like that?” Aidan teased, nipping at Dean’s ear and neck and extracting more soft moans and groans from his lover.

Dean moved his hips along with his lover’s touch, breathing heavier when after a few minutes the familiar tingle formed in his belly.

“ _Aid_ , God I love you so much Aid…” he babbled, digging his fingers into his lover’s arms when after a few more strokes he came with a muffled shout.

Aidan smiled and slowly worked his lover through his orgasm, only stopping when he was sure that Dean was done. He then half-guiltily wiped his hand on the sheets and pressed multiple kisses on Dean’s shoulder. Dean started to turn around, but Aidan stopped him and pulled him close to his chest.

“Just go to sleep, you’ve done so much for me already,” he whispered, kissing his lover’s cheek a few times.

“You sure?” Dean whispered sleepily, already closing his eyes and nuzzling into Aidan’s neck, wrapping an arm tightly around his chest.

“Yeah,” Aidan whispered back, softly running his fingertips up and down Dean’s spine, “I’m sure.”

Dean hummed softly, feeling goose bumps appear on his arms from Aidan’s ticklish fingers on his back. He pressed a lazy kiss in his lover’s neck before slowly falling asleep again, all warm and secure in his lover’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big ** <3 ** for everyone who's still reading this story!


	16. Press OK to Continue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys make plans to move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Beta-read by the wonderful Finduilas88!**
> 
>  
> 
>  Hope you'll enjoy this one!
> 
> Love,
> 
> Eá <3

 

“Just do it, Aidan…”

“But when I click that button it’s–”

“Click it, Aidan.”

“Are you sure? We can always just wait some–”

“ _Aidan!_ ”

“Alright! Alright, _Jesus!_ ”

 

With his eyes squeezed shut, Aidan moved the mouse and clicked on the blue OK button at the bottom of the page. After a few seconds of loading, a message popped up onto his screen, stating that his order had been completed and to check his email for further information. Without even taking another breath, Aidan opened a new tab and checked his email. After several seconds during which he nervously tapped his fingers on the desk that he and Dean were sitting behind–or just Dean, as Aidan was sitting in his lap–he received the confirmation email saying that their tickets to London Heathrow Airport were successfully booked for September 21st.

Sighing deeply in relief, Aidan shifted around a bit so that he could bury his face in Dean’s jumper. It had taken them more than an hour to book the tickets, checking at least ten times to make sure everything was in order. It was the end of what had been weeks and weeks of planning, long nights of discussing it all with their families, friends and agents. There were only a few things still left to do, but they were close, so close to the peace and happiness they both believed waited for them in London.

“So we’ve got the house…”

“Yes.”

“And now we’ve got the tickets…”

“Yes.”

“We’ve both got visas.”

“Yes.”

“And we both found agents in London.”

“ _Yes_ , Aidan.”

Aidan inhaled deeply before raising his head to look at Dean. There was a hint of doubt in his brown eyes, so Dean rubbed his cheek softly and smiled.

“So what’s next then?” Aidan asked quietly.

Dean shrugged, “I don’t know. Brett’s happy to take care of Batman for us until we find a safe way to move him to England, so that’s been taken care of. And all our stuff, we discussed that too. So that means we’re pretty much done, I think.”

Aidan sighed deeply at that and rested his chin on Dean’s head, “ _Finally_.”

Dean grinned and ran his fingers through Aidan’s dark curls, “Was it not worth spending the past three weeks on?”

“Of course it was! Not to insult your homeland or anything but, you know… I want to move, but the preparations are so fucking stressful. I need a bath. No, I need a _massage_ …”

“You want me to rub your feet?” Dean asked, pulling up his nose at the thought.

“Hey! I’ve got beautiful feet. Unlike you, with your chicken legs.”

“ _Oi!_ I don’t have chicken legs! I happen to have bigger feet than yours!”

“No you don’t.”

“Yes I do.”

“No you _don’t_!”

“Well, then at least I’ve got a bigger dick.”

Aidan burst into laughter at that, whacking his hand on the desk several times and almost falling off Dean’s lap in hysterics. When he was finally able to control himself, he exaggeratedly rubbed the tears from his cheeks before stubbornly saying, “No you don’t.”

“Alright then, _fine_ ,” Dean hissed as he pushed Aidan from his lap and stood up from his chair, poking Aidan firmly in the chest with raised eyebrows, “Guess who’s not getting anything for dinner tonight?”

Aidan stuck his tongue out and moved to the couch, where he lazily threw himself face first on the cushions, groaning loudly and miserably. He continued to mutter until he felt Dean sitting down on top of his butt. Aidan repositioned himself so that he was lying with his cheek on his folded arms and looked at Dean from the corners of his eyes, raising one eyebrow as high as it could go.

“In case you hadn’t noticed, _babe_. You’re sitting on my butt.”

“I know I’m sitting on your butt.”

“Then why are you sitting on my butt?”

Dean stretched his back before lying chest-down on Aidan’s back, pressing a kiss into the younger man’s neck. He then rested his cheek on Aidan’s shoulder and closed his eyes, enjoying how the warmth of his lover’s body and the soft ticking of the clock lulled him into an afternoon doze. After a few minutes of silence, Aidan softly cleared his throat, before whispering in a serious tone.

“Are you still fine with it?”

Dean yawned loudly before pressing his fingers into Aidan’s shoulder and squeezing softly, “We have talked about this for weeks. You know that I’m fine with it, Aidan.”

“Yeah, I guess I’m just worrying…”

Dean crawled off Aidan’s back and pulled him into an embrace. He held his lover for a few moments, resting his head against his shoulder, before saying, “I understand babe, but we talked about it and we found a way that worked for both of us. There are some things we both need to let go in order to be together, and I’d rather be together with you and lose a few things that I love than give up on this and lose what I love the most.”

When Aidan failed to say anything, Dean whispered, “ _You_ , Aidan. I love you more than anything. You are my everything.”

It was then that Dean noticed that Aidan was fighting hard to hold back his tears, his bottom lip was trembling and his breathing came choked and in short gasps.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” Dean asked worriedly, wrapping his arms around Aidan’s shoulders and pulling him closer to his chest. He felt Aidan clutching at his neck, and he felt a few drops escaping from his lashes and falling onto his bare skin.

“N-nothing, I just… I l-love you so much for d-doing this for m-me. For us, I m-mean…”

Aidan sniffed loudly and chuckled, “ _God_ I’m such a cry-baby…”

Dean smiled and pulled back just a bit so that he could kiss Aidan tenderly. When he looked into Aidan’s dark eyes, he saw nothing but love. A sight that made his heart skip a beat.

“It will be difficult for me, and I’m a little bit scared to be honest.”

Aidan nodded and averted his gaze, a tear escaping the corner of his eyes at the movement. Dean gently wiped it away for him with his thumb.

“But you know how it feels, don’t you? You’ll be able to help me through this in a way that I wasn’t able to do for you when you moved to New Zealand for me.”

Dean took Aidan’s cheeks in his hands and rubbed the stubbly skin with his thumbs, “I never stopped being grateful for doing that, you know? You moved half the world away from home to live with me, and I love you so much for that.”

Aidan smiled weakly at that and sniffed, “Yeah…”

“And now it’s time I did the same. London has so much to offer for the both of us, and as long as we help each other and continue to love each other through the good days and the bad days, it should work out.”

Aidan nodded again and swallowed hard. Dean took him in his arms again and squeezed so hard that Aidan groaned and laughed.

“So no more tears, young man. You’ll ruin my shirt.”

“Pft, that shirt was ruined the moment you put it on this morning.”

“ _Hey!_ ” Dean exclaimed insulted, but couldn’t he suppress a grin when Aidan burst into laughter at his own joke, “You piece of Irish _shit_.”

He did allow Aidan to kiss him as an apology, and Dean dried his cheeks for him with the sleeve of his ‘ruined’ shirt before cuddling against his side and closing his eyes, enjoying the intense love he felt for the man that was rapidly dozing off with his head resting on his shoulder.

 

“Dean?” Aidan whined after he wrapped the final box from their bedroom with at least 100 yards of sticky tape.

When he heard no response, he took a deep breath and yelled, “ _Deano!_ ”

“ _What now?_ ” he heard his lover yelling back from downstairs, where he too was packing all their belongings from the living room into boxes. With only a short time left in New Zealand, they were going send the boxes with the stuff they needed most in their first weeks in London to Adam, who would keep it safe for them until they were ready to move it all into their own house. They would bring the other boxes with them to Brett, where they were going to stay during their final week, who would then send them over to London in the weeks following their move.

“ _I’m running out of sticky tape!_ ”

Dean sighed so loudly from the living room that he could hear it upstairs, and he braced himself when he heard the blond coming up the stairs. He counted the steps; he stomped with more force than was necessary until the door was thrown open and Dean came inside. To be honest, he looked like shit. And that was probably the reason why he had taken the effort to come upstairs in the first place. So that’s what Aidan said after he walked over to him and rested both hands on Dean’s shoulders.

“You look like shit.”

“Why thank you very much,” Dean answered grumpily. He accepted a quick kiss before throwing himself face first on top of their bed. After a few seconds of silence, Dean sneezed loudly, and then again and again.

“Fuck this fucking dust, it’s not as if we never clean this place,” he muttered, rubbing his red nose with his sleeve and coughing.

“Can you remember the last time anyone dusted this place then?” Aidan asked with a grin, and he climbed onto the bed as well and rested his head on Dean’s stomach.

“Mate, you literally vacuumed the house yesterday,” Dean laughed, shaking his head.

“Ah, yeah, you’re right…” Aidan mumbled. He then crawled onto Dean’s hips and leaned over to press his lips gently on Dean’s, kissing him softly at first and growing more and more lustful.

“You know,” Aidan started, still kissing Dean and panting hot puffs of breath onto his lover’s lips, “we’ve worked very hard today, haven’t we?”

Dean said nothing and just nodded, moving his kisses to Aidan’s neck and sucking a dark mark into his skin.

“Hmm… I think we deserve a break, don’t you?”

Dean paused his treatment to smile cheekily at his lover and nip at the tip of his nose, “Does loading boxes get you horny?”

Aidan snorted and pulled Dean back to him, kissing him hard and impatiently pulling at the bottom of his shirt.

“I’ll never completely understand you Irish folk,” Dean mumbled as he worked off his shirt and let himself be thrown back onto the bed.

Aidan was quick and rough, and within minutes he had both him and Dean completely naked on the bed. Without even looking he reached for the bottle of lube that stood on their nightstand and squeezed a generous amount of it onto his fingers.

“We don’t have much time, still so much packing to do,” he joked as he worked two fingers into Dean at once, making his lover groan beautifully.

He waited only several seconds before adding a third, careful to avoid the spot that Dean was vocally begging him to touch. When he was sure that Dean was ready enough to take him, he coated his erection with some more lube and pushed in fast, groaning loudly when he was completely inside.

“Come on then, get some speed going,” Dean complained, and at that Aidan immediately went from slow warm-up thrusts into full speed. It soon had both men breathing heavily, and Dean dug his fingertips deep into Aidan’s muscular arms.

“Do you… do you think the neighbours will miss our little shows?” Dean joked, cursing loudly when Aidan repositioned himself and hit him in his sweet-spot with every thrust.

“ _Fuck_ the neighbours,” Aidan replied bluntly, and he increased his speed again, making the bed creak loudly underneath them.

“Getting close…” Dean sighed, and he gasped in pleasure when Aidan spit onto his hand and wrapped it tightly around his erection, working it with the same speed and rhythm as his hips.

“ _Ah yeah_ , God that’s it! Don’t stop!” Dean cried, and after a few more thrusts he came all over Aidan’s hand and chest, shuddering and cursing while his lover worked him through his peak. Aidan followed shortly after with a loud groan, biting sharply at Dean’s shoulder when he released his seed inside him.

When he was all done, he collapsed on top of Dean, breathing heavily from both their passion and exhaustion from packing all day. He leaned into Dean’s touch, as he softly ran his fingertips up and down his back.

“How’s that?” he mumbled sleepily, relaxing into the feeling of Dean’s fingers dancing on his skin.

“Fucking fantastic,” Dean replied, leaning over to press a kiss into Aidan’s hair and to cover both of them with blankets.

He wrapped both his arms and legs around Aidan’s taller body, ignoring the voice in the back of his head that said he’d regret not cleaning themselves up. He sighed when Aidan wrapped his arms around his neck as well and pressed their chests close against each other.

“I love you,” Aidan sighed contently.

“I love you too, baby…”

“So much…”

Within seconds, both men were fast asleep in each other’s arms.

 

When after a few hours Aidan woke up, he groaned so loudly that Dean raised his head from his shoulder and blinked at him in confusion. Aidan smiled at seeing his lover still half-asleep and softly ran his fingers through his blond hair.

“We really need to pack those boxes Deano, we only have two more days until we go to Brett’s and we’re not even close to halfway done…”

Dean groaned disapprovingly and turned around, his back facing Aidan.

“C’mon babe,” he whined, shaking Dean’s shoulder, “we’ll order a pizza when we’re done packing the bedroom and living room. Don’t you like pizza?”

Dean muttered something that sounded remarkably like ‘fuck you’, so Aidan moved to plan B. He leaned over and started poking at Dean’s sides, which earned him a slap and a curse but at least had Dean sitting up and staring at him through grumpy eyes.

“Come on Dean, it won’t take more than two hours if we work hard.”

“That’s not exactly helping me to get motivated, _is it_ …”

“Pizza, Dean. Think about the pizza, and if you pack those video-games I put at the bottom of the stairs I’ll blow you in the shower tonight.”

That had Dean laughing quickly, so Aidan opened his arms for Dean to hug him. He rubbed his back with both hands to protect him from the chill in the room and kissed him in his neck.

“Deal.”

“I knew you’d say that, you sexy bastard.”

After sharing one last kiss, both men got themselves dressed again and reluctantly returned to their work.

 

“Babe?”

Aidan slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times to adjust to the darkness. He could just see Dean’s face leaning on his shoulder, and he pulled him in a bit closer.

“What is it?” he asked sleepily, yawning loudly.

“I-I’m not sure…”

Aidan wrapped his leg around Dean’s bum and held him close, pressing soft kisses all over his lover’s face and shoulder. He knew exactly what was keeping Dean awake, and it made him feel guilty for being able to fall asleep himself. He stifled another yawn and rested his head on his pillow again, pressing his nose against Dean’s.

“I know, babe, I know…” he whispered in an effort to comfort his lover.

“We’ll come back, right?” Dean squeaked softly.

“As often as we can, I promise. As often as possible…”

He heard Dean sighing and pressed his palm against the back of Dean’s head when he nuzzled into his neck.

“I won’t miss the lack of garden…”

Aidan chuckled softly and pressed a kiss into Dean’s golden hair.

“Or the creaking cupboards…”

“The leaking washing-machine,” Aidan suggested.

“Uh-huh, or the spiders in the bathroom…”

“ _God_ no, those fuckers won’t be as big in London as they are here.”

“The, uh… what else?”

Aidan sighed sadly and leaned his chin on Dean’s head.

“The lack of a job.”

“Oh Aidan…”

“Things will be better once we’re in London.”

“Apart from the weather…”

Dean laughed softly at that, and began to play with Aidan’s chest hair.

“No, the weather will be shit.”

“And the traffic.”

“The money…”

“ _Pounds_ …”

“Horrible.”

It remained silent for a while, in which Dean absent-mindedly drew patterns on Aidan’s chest and the Irishman was slowly dozing off again. When Dean noticed that, he stopped and cuddled against his lover’s side once more.

“It’s nice we’re staying our final week at Brett’s.”

Aidan only hummed softly, and Dean grinned, a sneaky plan quickly forming in the back of his head.

“So eh, Aid?”

“Hmm?”

“I was just thinking… Will you vacuum and dust the whole house one last time tomorrow morning while I sit on my arse and eat all the leftover ice-cream?”

“Yeah…sure…” Aidan mumbled, obviously more asleep than awake, and Dean had to bite his hand to stop himself from laughing too hard. He pulled the covers all the way up to his chin and leaned his head against Aidan’s shoulder.

“That’s a deal then,” he whispered, and finally he was able to fall asleep himself.

 

After they had dropped all the boxes for Adam off at the post office and made a quick stop at the supermarket, Dean, Aidan and Brett were back home and lounging in the living room. Brett had Batman on his lap, which only just fitted on one couch, and was petting the dog’s head lovingly.

“Have you decided yet when you’ll be moving Batman to London?” Brett asked, pointing at the dog with his head.

“It’s a difficult situation,” Dean started, frowning a bit sadly, “he’s a big boy and he’ll obviously be transported in a crate. He’s never been good in tiny rooms, let alone a crate, so you’ll have to practice that with him a few times until he’s more comfortable with it. I don’t think we’ll be moving him until April or May, I already feel sick thinking of him being thrown in the cargo of a plane and I’m definitely not doing that in the middle of summer.”

“No, no I understand. I can prepare him for the flight when the time arrives.”

“I hope the time does arrive… I’m going to miss that boy and I really don’t want to leave him behind permanently…”

Noticing the sad look in Dean’s eyes, Aidan wrapped his arm around his lover’s neck and pulled him close to him.

“It’ll be fine. I promise we’ll get him to London safe and healthy.”

Dean smiled sadly, “I fucking love that dog man, he’s my baby. I really don’t want it to go wrong, because there are just too many things that could go wrong. I’d rather take some more time figuring out how to move him safely and leave him here for a few months…”

Brett looked at him understandingly, “He’ll be fine, Deano. Even if it took you two years to get Batman to London, I’ll take good care of him. Look at me, I’m fucking great with dogs.”

Dean and Aidan laughed when Brett took Batman’s head in his hands and pressed a big kiss on the dog’s black nose.

“There, absolutely nothing to worry about. Your baby will be safe with me.”

Brett ruffled the dog’s fur before gently pushing him off of the couch, complaining about him being a big boy and not being able to feel his toes anymore.

“Coffee anyone?” he asked, already moving towards the kitchen to grab three mugs without waiting for an answer. When he had the beverages made, he came back to the living room and handed out the mugs. Once he was sitting down again, he took a deep breath.

“I need to tell you guys something,” he started a bit reluctantly.

Dean and Aidan both looked at him curiously, and Brett sighed again, a hint of annoyance or maybe even panic showing in his eyes.

“It’s not just Mum and Dad who are coming over to have dinner and to take you to the airport on Sunday…”

“Oh no, please don’t…” Dean already started, placing his mug back on the coffee table to bury his face in his hands. Aidan only stared at the two brothers, confused about the situation.

“I’m really sorry, Dean. She insisted…”

“You could have said _no_.”

“Come on Dean, you know I couldn’t. She’d kill me if I said no. And Mum would probably bring her along even if I had said no.”

“Who are we talking about?” Aidan asked slightly amused.

“ _Grandma_ ,” Dean said, followed by a loud groan which had both Aidan and Brett laughing.

“So fond good ol’ granny, aren’t you Deano?”

“Yeah, fucking _love_ her,” Dean muttered, leaning away when Aidan tried to comfort him.

“Aw she can’t be that bad, can she?” Aidan asked, remembering his own grandmother as a very kind and lovable person who didn’t stop smiling even on her deathbed.

So he was surprised when Dean and Brett both burst out laughing.

“She’s pushy,” Dean started, counting all her bad traits on his fingers.

“Nosy, she asks too many questions, _insists_ on singing songs together, she _always_ tells the same embarrassing stories, never stops complaining about the way I dress, she… she…”

Dean closed his eyes as he thought of more, so Brett jumped in to help him.

“She always brings the driest home-made biscuits that make you constipated for days…”

“Oh no, please not the biscuits,” Dean groaned, but he was laughing anyway. Aidan laughed along, amused but also a bit scared about the prospect of meeting her in a few days.

“Oh but she’s sweet, despite being annoying we do love her. She must be what, eighty-nine or something by now?”

“She could even be ninety already, I lost count years ago,” Dean said, sipping at his coffee.

“And still going strong?” Aidan asked politely.

“Wish she wasn’t,” Dean said through a fake cough, at which Brett shook his head disapprovingly.

“Come on Dean, it’s just dinner. She really wanted to see you before you left, she’s scared that it will be the last time she sees you before…you know what I mean. You’ve got to admit that’s pretty sad, right?”

“ _Alright_ , alright…”

Dean finished his coffee in one last gulp and set it back down on the coffee table with a bit more force than necessary.

“But I’m not having those biscuits. Not even a bite.”

“ _Dean_ …”

 

“Are you really wearing that sweater tonight, dear? Are all your button-ups in the laundry?”

“ _No_ , grandma, they’re not…”

“Oh, oh very well then.”

She pressed a kiss on each of Dean’s cheeks, leaving a very pink and very noticeable mark on his skin before moving to his younger brother.

“Brettie, my dear. You’ve grown since I last saw you!”

Brett had to bend so that she could also kiss him on each cheek, laughing politely and holding her shoulders firmly.

“ _I think it’s more likely that she shrunk_ ,” Dean whispered into Brett’s ear when she released him, at which his younger brother pressed his hand firmly against his mouth to stifle his giggles.

“And you must be Aidan! Come here, darling.”

When Aidan’s eyes widened with panic when she gave him not two, but three kisses on the cheeks, Brett had to hold Dean up by his arms to prevent him from falling over with laughter.

“So, mama, would you like a glass of wine?” Dean’s mother asked as she moved her into the living room by her arm. With his grandmother safely out of hearing-reach, Dean turned to Aidan and started to rub the pink lipstick off of his cheek.

“How bad?” he asked nervously, cursing as the spot on his lover’s cheek only turned redder from the rubbing.

“Not bad at all, I think she’s great,” he said, closing his eyes when Dean started to rub at his other cheek.

“Good, keep up that spirit and you might survive until dessert,” Dean said, licking his thumb to wipe off the final marks of lipstick.

“ _Boys, come here for a second my dears!_ ”

“Oh here we go,” Dean groaned, grasping Aidan’s hand firmly, “Prepare not to be able to shit for three days.”

 

Dinner turned out to be quite nice after all. Dean’s parents managed to keep Grandmother talking during most of the meal while Dean, Aidan and Brett joked away at the other side of the table. They had a very nice home-made chicken-soup as a starter, accompanied by soft baguette with fresh garlic butter. The main course was an excellent risotto, of which they reluctantly didn’t finish their entire plate in order to leave room for a delicious piece of chocolate cake for dessert. All throughout the meal, Dean’s grandmother obviously asked Dean and Aidan many questions; how they were doing at work (“Both unemployed? Oh, well then…”), if they were already thinking about marriage (“Not yet, Grandma.”) or adopting children _(“Grandma…”)_.

Though Aidan was highly amused by the whole scene, Dean was practically dancing when they were finally excused from the table. He dragged Aidan away from the dining room towards the kitchen, where he pulled two cold bottles of beer from the fridge before hustling him upstairs to his old bedroom. They both jumped on top of the bed, where he opened the bottles and gave one to Aidan. Both downed half the bottle at once, followed by spectacular burps and lots of laughter. When they were calmed down, they leaned back against the wall the bed was pushed against and sighed deeply.

“So, that’s dinner with the O’Gorman family.”

“Could have been worse. Want me to take you along to a traditional Turner Christmas Party in Ireland sometime?”

“I’d rather have you don’t, to be honest,” Dean admitted with a smile, which Aidan fortunately returned.

“Lots of singing, lots of _very_ drunk family members, too many screaming nephews and nieces to count…”

“It actually sounds rather fun,” Dean admitted after taking another long gulp of his beer, “the drinking part, obviously.”

“It really is, believe me or not. You might hate your family when they are around but admit it; life would be pretty fucking lonely without them.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re quite right.”

Dean leaned over to kiss Aidan on his lips, moaning softly when their tongues touched. When they broke apart, he laughed.

“Imagine us doing this in front of Grandma. She’s really accepting of us being together and I love her for it, but I’d kind of like to see her face if we were actually intimate when she’s around.”

“I’d rather not share a make-out session with your family, if you don’t mind,” Aidan said with a grin.

“My mum had me swear to behave around my grandmother. She’d have us walk to the airport tomorrow morning if I misbehaved.”

Aidan laughed loudly at that, “Oh little Deano, still getting punished for misbehaving.”

“She’s still my mum.”

_“Dean! Don’t be antisocial and come have coffee with Grandma!”_

“That was Mum,” Dean muttered annoyed, downing back what still remained of his beer in one gulp and throwing the empty bottle onto the floor lazily.

“Oh come on, you’ll miss her when we’re moved. Let’s go enjoy your final evening with your folks instead of letting them annoy us.”

He gave Dean a playful punch against his shoulder before helping him off the bed. He held out his hand, which Dean took with a reluctant frown, though he did squeeze it firmly as they were walking down the stairs towards the living room.

 

It was half past three in the morning when everyone squeezed themselves into Dean’s father’s car. It was fortunately only a short ride to the airport, so the discomfort as a result of pushing four people into the back of a Fiat Panda wouldn’t last too long. It was a rather silent ride, full of mixed emotions, and Aidan was staring out of the window into the darkness. He remembered the ride he took when he left for Auckland only too well, how uncomfortable it was and how he was both reluctant and eager to leave Ireland. He missed his family very much and couldn’t wait to see them again soon, but he also felt very bad because Dean was now going to go through the same pain he had back then. And how much it had hurt when he gave his parents and brother a final hug before leaving, how many tears he had silently shed during his flight at the memory of his mother crying. It had hurt so much, so he squeezed Dean’s hand hard until the Kiwi muttered that he was breaking his fingers.

When they arrived at the airport, they retrieved their trollies from the trunk of the car and rode them into the building. They soon found the right gate and met up to share their goodbyes. It was Dean’s mother who started by hugging them tightly, kissing them both on their cheeks and wishing them a good flight. Dean’s father followed with a firm pat on their shoulders and a promise to send them anything they’d forgotten to pack. Then Grandma hugged both tightly and left new pink marks on their cheeks. She had Dean promise to call her every day, at which he politely answered he would try, before Dean’s mother kindly pulled her away from the boys so that Brett could hug them goodbye as well.

“I’m going to miss you, brothers,” he said with a sad smile, grasping a shoulder of each and squeezing tightly.

“But we’ll keep in touch, right?”

“Of course,” both Dean and Aidan said in unison. Brett could see the sadness in Dean’s eyes despite his smile, so he walked up to him and pulled him into another hug.

“Don’t be sad, Deano. We’ll Skype as often as possible and you know Bat’s safe with me.”

Dean only nodded and forced another smile, “I know Brett, I know…”

“Alright then, brother. Have a good flight,” he said, and with a final slap on his shoulder he walked back to his parents and grandmother.

After a few minutes of delaying their goodbyes, it was really time for Dean and Aidan to move to check-in. After another round of hugs and a few tears, Dean’s family left the airport. It left an uncomfortable emptiness behind, and Aidan pulled Dean into a tight hug. It wasn’t a surprise for him that after a few seconds he could hear the chocked gasps of crying coming from his lover, so he held him tight to his chest and pretended he didn’t notice. The soft cries quickly turned into heart-breaking sobs, so Aidan gently led them to a quieter spot so that he could try to calm him down without everyone staring.

“Oh baby…” he soothed, running his hand through Dean’s hair and gently massaging his scalp.

“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry you have to go through this. I know it hurts so much but I’m here for you, I’ll always be here…”

Dean shook his head and worked himself out of his embrace. Aidan pouted at seeing how sad he was, and he softly wiped his lover’s cheeks dry with his thumbs.

“I’ll help you through it; together we can do this, right?”

Dean only nodded. He probably didn’t trust his voice enough to say anything yet. So Aidan wrapped his arm around Dean’s shoulders and rubbed his back.

“Come on, I believe I saw a Starbucks somewhere. Wanna go find it?”

At that, Dean smiled weakly and nodded. He let Aidan lead him away from the gate and back from where they’d come from, and it didn’t take long until indeed they found a Starbucks surrounded by many other stores and restaurants. Before they’d go inside and queue up, Dean stood on tiptoes so that he could kiss Aidan lovingly on the lips. The Irishman worked his fingers through Dean’s hair as he kissed back, and they both smiled when they broke apart.

“I love you,” Dean whispered softly, his reddish eyes meeting Aidan’s. He let himself be pulled back into a hug, resting his cheek against the soft fabric of Aidan’s coat and enjoying the closeness. Aidan kissed him on the top of his head before softly saying,

“I love you too, love of my life.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised it'd be a long one.
> 
> Thanks for reading! <3


	17. Favourite Place in the Universe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys fly to London.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Beta-read by the wonderful Finduilas88!**  
>   
> 
> Hello my friends!
> 
> See? I can actually still update once per week, and it's all thanks to your lovely comments on chapter 16! So thank you again for the great feedback. I hope you like this one too, let me know what you think! 
> 
> Love,
> 
> Eá <3

 

“Alright, let’s play a game!”

Aidan slapped his knees with his hands in excitement while Dean on his right groaned loudly, sinking back in his cheap, uncomfortable airplane seat with his arms folded over his chest. The two of them were sitting on the left side of the aircraft almost at the very back, and after a lot of fighting Aidan had managed to claim the window-seat, promising that Dean could have it on their next flight. Every single seat on the Boeing 767 was booked, making it noisy and just too damn crowded. If Dean hadn’t been grumpy already, he certainly was now.

“Come on Aid, it’s eight in the morning and we’ve been playing games for the past…” Dean checked his watch on his left wrist, “two hours. Two fucking hours, Aidan.”

“No we haven’t, and it’s fun. Keeps people from getting _grumpy_.”

Dean only looked at him through tired and annoyed eyes, but at seeing his boyfriend so excited, he took a deep breath and released it in a long sigh, “Fine then, what game do you want to play?”

Aidan squeezed his eyes shut as he thought of a game they hadn’t played yet. When he came up with one, he gasped and opened his eyes again, grinning widely.

“Rock Paper Scissors!”

“You’re _joking_ , right?”

“I spy with my little eye?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Who am I?”

“An idiot.”

“Dea-ean…”

Dean grinned at his own joke, but when he noticed that Aidan wasn’t laughing with him, he finally gave in.

“Alright then, let’s play a storytelling-game. But only if I can start.”

This had Aidan smiling again quickly, and he turned around in his seat so that he was facing Dean, who did the same thing. Sitting opposite of each other with their legs tangled up so that they sat a bit more comfortably, Aidan waited patiently for Dean to start the game.

“Once upon a time, there was a farmer who was in love with his chicken.”

Aidan chuckled and bit his lower lip, “he was in love with his _cock_ …”

“Oh for fuck’s sake Aidan. You wanna start then?”

“No, no I’m sorry. Alright, once upon a time, there was a farmer who was in love with his cock. So every night before going to sleep, he visited his cock to feed it some of his finest seed.”

Dean burst into laughter, quickly covering his mouth with his hands when the people on the seats around them were staring at them in annoyance. When he looked back at Aidan again, he saw that the Irishman’s face was also red from holding in his laughter. Dean shook his head at him and continued.

“But one day when the farmer ran out of his special seed, he decided to surprise his _chicken_ with something else.”

“So the farmer took his cock out of its cage and into his own house.”

“Where he treated it to a fine glass of wine.”

“And a romantic massage at the end of the evening.”

“Aidan _fucking_ Turner…”

Aidan just laughed and laughed, curling up in his seat and hitting Dean playfully against his shoulder.

“Alright, alright, different game then. Let’s play the grocery game, hmm?”

“Are you going to stop being dirty then?” Dean asked with a frown but grinning nonetheless.

“Maybe. Alright, I’ll start this time. Asparagus.”

“Asparagus, broccoli.”

“Asparagus, broccoli, cucumber.”

“Aspa– _what now_?”

Aidan was giggling uncontrollably to himself, and he stared back at his lover apologetically.

“I’m sorry, I just had to laugh.”

“Because you said cucumber?”

That question only made Aidan giggle more, so Dean sighed loudly and shook his head.

“Such a fucking child. Alright, where were we. Asparagus, broccoli, cucumber– _stop it, Aidan_ –eh…fuck it. Dinosaur.”

Aidan snorted but continued, “Asparagus, broccoli, cucumber, dinosaur, elephant.”

“Asparagus, broccoli, cucumber, dinosaur, elephant, ferret.”

“Asparagus, broccoli, cucumber, dinosaur, elephant, ferret, gonorrhoea.”

_“Aidan!”_

“What? You started with fucking _ferret_.”

“And what the hell is wrong with ferret?” Dean exclaimed confused.

“Oh now don’t play stupid on me. Come on, it’s your turn.”

Dean sighed loudly and wanted to stop playing the game, but when Aidan turned his horrible but irresistible puppy-eyes on him, he just couldn’t refuse.

“Alright then. Asparagus, broccoli, cucumber, dinosaur, elephant, ferret, gonorrhoea, hot-dog.”

Aidan giggled loudly and elbowed Dean in his side, “Asparagus, broccoli, cucumber, dinosaur, elephant, ferret, gonorrhoea, hot-dog, incest.”

“Aidan… Seriously, incest?”

“Oh come on, don’t tell me you’ve never read Hobbit fanfiction in your life,” Aidan said with a smirk.

At that, Dean’s eyes widened dangerously and his mouth fell open, “ _Please_ don’t tell me that they write what I think they write…”

“Believe me, your fan club and thus the fanfiction world exploded the moment you announced ‘us’ on your twitter. So it’s all your fault, really. Come on, your turn.”

“Jesus Christ, alright but _please_ be more quiet if you insist on playing it like this. Asparagus, broccoli, cucumber, dinosaur, elephant, ferret, gonorrhoea, hot-dog, incest…alright then, you win. Joystick.”

“Good one, good one. Asparagus, broccoli, cucumber, dinosaur, elephant, ferret, gonorrhoea, hot-dog, incest, joystick, kiss me.”

“Aw,” Dean cooed, leaning forward to give Aidan a sweet kiss on his lips. He smiled his beautiful dimpled smile at him, “how long are we going to play this game for?”

“Until we reach the end of the alphabet,” Aidan teased, biting at the finger that was still lingering on his cheek.

“Oh Christ. Let’s just skip the repeating from now on then, I’m growing tired of it. Alright, next letter: the L is for Love.”

“Aww that’s really cute babe, but we all know that the M is for Masturbation.”

_“Aidan…”_

“Meat Massaging. Member Moulding. You know all about that kind of stuff, don’t you Deano?”

Dean stuck out his tongue at Aidan and thought of the next word, grinning when he came up with a good one, “Nipples.”

“I’ve got two of those, wanna see?”

“No thanks,” Dean replied bluntly, taking a quick sip of his drink before groaning, “You don’t even have to say the next word, because I already know what it’s going to be…”

Aidan indeed smiled widely when he said it, “Orgasm! But the next one is even better…”

Dean laughed and said, “Penis.”

“Ha-ha, you said it! _You said penis_ ,” Aidan giggled, and then he giggled even more when the lady sitting in front of them turned her head around and frowned at them. He pouted though when he realised what letter came next.

“Aw, I don’t know a dirty word that starts with a Q.”

“Then maybe this is a good moment to stop our game,” Dean suggested, laughing when Aidan started to whine and complain.

“Come on Aid, please try to get some sleep, your energy is exhausting me and I only slept three hours last night. Want me to massage your hair?”

Knowing how much Aidan loved it when he massaged his hair; he smiled when the younger man nodded eagerly and curled up in his chair, resting his head against Dean’s chest. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply when Dean’s fingers made contact with his scalp and started to rub gentle circles into his hair. Drowning in the heavenly sensation, he soon started to feel the high of sleepiness, and within seconds he dozed off with Dean’s fingers still running through his hair.

 

Dean continued working his fingers through Aidan’s soft curls even when he knew that the younger man was in dreamland. It did a fantastic job in calming down not only his lover, but also himself. Because during moments like this, when everyone on the aircraft was sleepy from the early hour and his lover was curled up and mumbling inaudible words in his sleep, what they were actually doing finally started to feel very real. Because in about twenty hours, they would land in London and their new life together would finally begin. The life they had been looking forward to for months, believing that it would be the solution to most of their problems.

And what could be waiting for them in London? A job even better than the Hobbit? Marriage? Children? Maybe his grandmother was right after all...

Dean looked down at his sleeping lover and smiled. There wasn’t a sight in the world that Dean loved more than the face of his boyfriend when he was asleep. How his eyelashes fluttered slightly, and how he groaned and mumbled in his dreams. How his forehead was relaxed and his lips slightly apart. God he loved those lips and the things Aidan could do with them. Wait, that sounded dirty…

The blond grinned and pressed a kiss into Aidan’s dark curls, loving how the younger man stirred a bit and then stilled again. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as his grandmother made it seem to think about marriage. After all, he loved this man more than anyone and anything else in the whole world. Losing him those few hours on that fateful night were the worst hours of his entire life. And knowing now how horrible, how empty, how terrifying it was to lose him made him realise just how much he needs him. How much he cares about him, wants him, longs for him. How much he loves him.

He only then realised how precious these few moments on the plane actually were, before he would probably fall asleep himself. No matter how badly he wanted to deny it, he couldn’t un-see the people staring at the two of them. Because if there’s one thing that mankind is good at, it is fucking _staring_. For the three old ladies in the seats to their right, it only took one innocent peck on Aidan’s cheek for their eyebrows to rise up into their badly dyed hair.

And what was fucking wrong with that in the first place? What is wrong with kissing the one you love? What does it matter if you love someone your own sex or not? What is the difference between loving a woman and loving a man? He just really couldn’t understand why everyone made such a big deal about two men or two women loving each other. The fact that they were in love with each other should be reason enough for people to be accepting of that. Because he’d rather go to hell for being gay–if people liked to believe that so badly–than spend the rest of his life without Aidan. Because he loved Aidan, he loved Aidan with every cell of his body, and not only because he was good in bed, famous, and fantastically good-looking. No, he loved him most of all because he was the only one that could tell him to grow the fuck up and put a smile on his fucking face because he deserved to be happy, and actually achieve something with it. Because there was only one person in his life that was capable of making him a better person, one person that he actually wanted to spend the rest of his life with, one person that he would honestly die for. And that, dear ladies in the seats to our right, that person is Aidan.

So Dean gently rubbed his fingers over Aidan’s stubbly cheek and leaned forward to press a long kiss on his brow. He then rested his cheek on top of his dark curls and pulled the thin airplane-blanket over the two of them. He startled when the aircraft suddenly started to shake, probably because they were flying through turbulence. Feeling the nerves rapidly taking over him with his lover fast asleep and unable to comfort him, he pulled Aidan closer to him and quickly felt warmth spreading inside his chest when he felt the younger man cuddling into his side. He almost turned around to check if anyone was staring at them, but then realised he really didn’t give a damn if people did. He was going to enjoy these few hours of sleep with his boyfriend, like he did every night in their own bed, and if anyone had a problem with that then they could piss off. Because he was on a beautiful journey to a beautiful city together with his beautiful boyfriend, and nothing and no one was going to take their happiness away from them this time.

He closed his eyes and sighed deeply, enjoying how the warmth of his lover’s body against his own calmed him down and made him feel pleasantly sleepy. ‘ _Yeah,’_ he thought, and his lips curled into a smiled because of it. ‘ _London is going to change our lives forever.’_

 

“Dean?”

“Hmm?”

“Why doesn’t MacDonald’s sell hot-dogs?”

“I have no idea…”

“Maybe it’s because it’s too confusing for tourists, that they actually think they’re selling dogs in a bun?”

“Maybe you should just eat your hamburger and shut the fuck up?”

Aidan grinned and stuffed a few fries into his mouth. Dean had been grumpy the whole time since they landed in Los Angeles half an hour ago, and Aidan just couldn’t stop himself from annoying his lover even more. He loved how funny Dean looked when he was grumpy, with that permanent frown on his forehead and the slight pout on his lips. And he also knew the one thing that Dean hated most when he was grumpy: dirty jokes. Because they made him laugh, all the time, even if he didn’t want to.

“Have I ever told you what my favourite place in the universe is?”

Dean sighed deeply in annoyance and looked at Aidan with raised eyebrows, his face straight and his lips pressed into a thin line.

“Uranus,” Aidan said, giggling uncontrollably and laughing even harder when he saw that Dean was struggling not to laugh.

“Aw come on, you know you want to. Alright then, what kinds of bees produce milk?”

Dean still kept his mouth tightly shut and was covering his lips with his fingers to hide his grin, though Aidan could see the dimples forming in his lovers cheeks and knew he’d already won.

“Boobies,” Aidan chuckled, and he threw his fists in the air in victory when Dean buried his face in his hands and shook his head.

“Stop it, _please_ stop, I’m grumpy, just let me be grumpy…” the Kiwi groaned, but his eyes betrayed his amusement, so Aidan leaned over the table so that his face was close to Dean’s.

“Why are gay guys never vegetarians?” he whispered with a grin. Dean just frowned at him and stuck out his tongue.

“Because they like eating wieners.”

That finally had Dean laughing, so Aidan dug his teeth back into his burger and grinned at Dean through innocent eyes.

“Stop it with those puppy eyes, you know I fucking hate you right now,” Dean complained, tossing three fries into his mouth at once.

“No you don’t. Come on now, we’re halfway there. And we’re eating MacDonald’s, in fucking Los Angeles! We’re in Hollywood; we’re in the City of Angels!”

Aidan laughed at Dean’s unimpressed face and shook his head, “Alright then, we’re in a dirty airport full of stinky, fat people and with nothing else to do than eating junk food and counting ceiling tiles. But _fortunately_ you’re in the company of your amazing boyfriend who happens to know a lot of jokes! Want to hear a joke about my dick? Oh never mind, it’s too long…”

_“Aidan…”_

“Close your eyes.”

Dean did as he was told and smiled, “I thought you were going to take a piss?”

“I was,” Aidan said, and he sat down on the empty seat next to Dean and retrieved a small gift-wrapped package from the plastic bag in his hand, “But I came across this shop and found something I thought you’d like. Plus the lady behind the cash register assured me that it is considered the best remedy against grumpiness, so I obviously couldn’t refuse.”

He placed the gift in Dean’s hand and told his lover he could open his eyes. When Dean saw the wrapped package, he smiled even wider and gave Aidan a thankful look.

“You shouldn’t have, Aid.”

“I’m not going to survive another eleven hours on a plane if we don’t treat that grumpiness, so open up!”

Dean did as he was told and ripped the paper off the package and tossed it onto Aidan’s lap. He laughed when he saw what was inside. It turned out to be a very big container of jelly beans, in which the label stated were forty-nine different flavours. Being a loyal fan of jelly beans, Dean beamed with happiness and gave his lover a quick kiss.

“Aw, thank you baby. I love jelly beans!”

“You’re very welcome! But only if you share them with me, obviously.”

Dean grinned and opened the lid from the container, eying the content eagerly.

“How many days are we going to have stomach ache if we eat all this candy during the flight?”

Aidan took a handful of sweets and tossed them into his mouth, “Don’t give a shit.”

“Hmm,” Dean moaned when he too stuffed his mouth with jelly beans, leaning his head on Aidan’s shoulder and chewing contently.

“How much longer until our next flight?” he asked after a while.

“An hour and a half,” Aidan answered, kissing Dean’s messy hair and blindly searching for the box of sweets with his hand.

 _“Christ…”_ Dean groaned, and he worked his phone out of his pocket and lazily started to play away on the device.

Aidan just stared in front of him, watching the people walk by. Some in a hurry to catch their next flight, others obviously picking up their loved ones from wherever they were coming home from. He smiled when he realised that in a few hours’ time, their good friend and ex-colleague Adam will be waiting for them in London Heathrow Airport, probably carrying some idiotic sign but also undoubtedly a very big smile. They were going to stay their first few days at his place to adjust to the time-zone and catch up on lost sleep before he would help them move their stuff into their new house. Adam lived only twenty minutes away from their new home, which would surely result into many fun nights of watching movies and drinking beers together, just like they had done back when they were still shooting the Hobbit.

When Aidan looked back at Dean and saw what the Kiwi was doing on his phone, his heart sank immediately.

“Babe, don’t be mad at me for saying this, but I don’t think that’s a very good idea…”

Dean sighed deeply and continued to stare at the picture he last shot of his dog this very morning, before they left Brett’s house on their way to the airport.

“I miss him already, I can’t believe I’m leaving my whole family behind and the one I miss the most is my fucking dog.”

Aidan pouted and pulled Dean close to his side, resting his chin on the top of his head, “I’m sorry babe. I’m really sorry we couldn’t take him along just yet. But he will come to London as soon as possible. Remember what your brother said? He just needs to practice with him for a bit and then we can have him flown to London when it’s spring.”

Dean nodded, but the sadness didn’t leave his eyes just yet. So Aidan took his chin in his fingers and kissed him softly on his lips.

“Trust me, okay? We’ll get him to London as soon as possible. Now give me your phone, looking at pictures of your family and dog will only make it more painful.”

He held out his hand patiently, and after about a minute in which the Kiwi was visibly struggling with his feelings, Dean finally gave in and placed his phone in Aidan’s hand. The Irishman put the device in the pocket of his jacket and rubbed Dean’s shoulder.

“It’s all going to be okay. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. I’m not leaving you, not ever, not even when you’re grumpy, eh?”

Dean smiled weakly and looked up to stare into Aidan’s beautiful eyes.

“I know,” he whispered, and he raised his hand to push a loose curl away from his lover’s face, “and neither am I.”

He then rested his head back on Aidan’s shoulder and closed his eyes, hoping the time would fly by faster that way.

 

A few hours later, Aidan was going through the movies they had put onto their iPad before they left to find one that they both wanted to watch while Dean was eating what still remained of their jelly beans. Neither of them spoke for nearly twenty minutes, until Aidan softly whispered.

“Deano?”

Dean, who had been staring out of the small window of the aircraft, turned around and gave Aidan a questioning look.

“What?”

“I love you.”

Sighing, Dean put the container of jelly beans back into his hand luggage and then faced his lover again with a smirk.

“Alright, what stupid movie do you want to watch?”

“Aw please Dean, can we watch the Lion King? Please, please, _please_?”

Dean laughed and shook his head in amusement. Aidan absolutely loved cartoons, especially the ones he used to watch when he was still a kid and knowing very well that his lover would whine about it during the rest of the flight if he refused, there was really only one thing he could say.

“Alright then, let’s watch the Lion King. But if I fall asleep halfway through the movie don’t you dare wake me up.”

Aidan sniggered and handed Dean one of the buds from his earphones. He gave Dean the iPad so that he himself could snuggle into his side, his cheek resting against the older man’s shoulder.

Dean quickly decided that it had been a good idea to watch the Lion King after all, because apart from humming along with every song, Aidan was blissfully quiet throughout the movie. It was almost as if he had become little 10-year old Aidan again, laughing along with every funny scene, and Dean was even sure that he had seen a tear escaping the corner of his boyfriend’s eye when Simba’s father, Mufasa, fell off the cliff and died.

And despite honestly enjoying his lover’s enthusiasm for children’s movies, he caught himself dozing off several times throughout the movie, and was even shaken out of a rather pleasant dream when the movie was finished.

“Aidan, I _told_ you not to–”

“I need to pee really badly, and you were snoring and drooling all over my shirt.”

_“I was not!”_

“Yeah you definitely were. Look, I even shot a picture.”

Giggling like crazy, he showed Dean the screen of his phone which indeed spotted a very embarrassing photo of the Kiwi, fast asleep with his mouth wide open and his head resting in a painful angle against Aidan’s shoulder. Dean immediately reached for the device, but Aidan was quicker and jumped out of his seat.

“Be right back, gotta pee!”

“You remove that picture right now! I swear to God if you put it on Twitter…”

“Oh! Good idea babe, will do that the moment we land!”

Winking and sticking out his tongue, he practically hopped towards where the restrooms were. Dean swore to himself that the moment the younger man was asleep, he’d steal his phone out of his pocket and remove the embarrassing picture. Or maybe he’d shoot one of his own to post on his Instagram account as revenge. Weighing the two options, he hardly realised it as he fell back asleep.

 

When Aidan came back, he smirked when he saw that Dean was asleep again. So he carefully hopped back in his seat and pulled Dean closer to him so that his head was resting on his chest. Dean was already impossibly grumpy from the many hours of flying, and he really didn’t want to have to deal with him whining about a sore neck as well.

He leaned his head back against the headrest of his seat and closed his eyes, unconsciously rubbing circles into Dean’s blond hair with his fingers. He allowed himself to smile for a moment and really enjoy the prospect of landing in London in a few hours. Aidan knew only too well how hard it was for Dean and was therefore very careful to express his own excitement about moving. But now that his lover was asleep and oblivious to what he was doing, he relaxed into his seat and allowed himself a little daydream about what waited for them in beautiful London.

The aircraft shuddered and bounced again as they went through another wave of turbulence, and he held Dean tighter when the older man whimpered anxiously in his sleep. He studied the Kiwi’s face until it relaxed again and rubbed his shoulder gently. Dean always used to act as the older and tougher one when it came to scary or dangerous situations, so Aidan secretly loved it when he caught the Kiwi being scared himself. He knew the older man hated storms and earthquakes, and that he was very scared of heights and needles. The poor thing had almost fainted when he needed to get a shot after they’d come back from filming on location. He had stubbornly locked himself up in his trailer for hours afterwards, refusing to open his door for anyone, not even for Aidan.

The prospect of moving to London had also been scary for Dean, but despite that they had done much planning about what they were going to do once they were there. They lived only half an hour away from the centre, so once they had rested and settled at Adam’s, the Brit had promised to give them a personal tour around the city. They’d go sightseeing, eat traditional British dishes and go to some of the best pubs. Then their friend would help them with moving into their new house, which was much bigger and much nicer than Dean’s little apartment back in Auckland. And then, when everything was unpacked and put away, their new life together would finally start.

Aidan sniggered when he noticed that Dean was drooling on his sweater again, so he kissed him sweetly on his brow and ruffled his blond hair. Poor thing, he thought. He must be absolutely exhausted to be able to crash like that. Scared from the storm they were flying through, tired from going through a train of emotions, hours and hours of flying, numb buttocks from sitting all the time, a sore neck from not being able to get comfortable in the cheap seats they’d booked, but most of all broken hearted from leaving his family, his dog, and his home behind.

 _Fuck_ , Aidan thought suddenly as a flood of guilt washed over him, stabbing him like a knife right into his heart and robbing him of his good mood in a flash. _What am I doing?_

He suddenly had an irresistible urge to cry, to hold Dean in his arms and apologize for what he was making him go through. To make it up with him, no matter how, to show him how much this meant to him. Why couldn’t they just live together and both be happy with it? Why does one of them always have to lose something in order to make the other feel better? Why does Dean have to be the one to leave his home, only because he couldn’t get his stupid arse to settle in the most beautiful country in the world? Because he was so dumb and irresponsible to get himself robbed, beaten up and traumatized as a result of it?

Without even realising it, the tears were already streaming down his cheeks, and he buried his face into Dean’s hair to hide his emotions from the people around him.

“I’m s-sorry, Dean. I’m s-so sorry…” he whispered softly, and he was startled when the older man stirred and slowly opened his eyes.

“What… Aid?” Dean croaked sleepily. When he realised what had woken him up, he sat up a bit straighter and looked at his lover sadly, “Oh please don’t cry, come here you…”

The Kiwi opened his arms wide so that Aidan could properly hug him. He rubbed soothing circles on Aidan’s back and just held him, not knowing exactly what to say because he wasn’t sure what was going on.

“Why are you crying, babe? You were so happy before, what happened?”

Aidan didn’t answer, so he just continued to hold him, hoping the younger man would tell him what made him so sad in his own time.

After a few minutes, the Irishman indeed started to calm down, and he shakily rubbed his cheeks dry with the sleeve of his hoodie. Dean held him by his shoulders and looked into the younger man’s eyes, frowning in concern.

“Want to tell me what’s wrong?” Dean tried again, waiting patiently for Aidan to reply.

“I-I just feel…guilty. I feel bad for us having to move, only because I couldn’t settle in New Zealand. It was bad enough already that I had to leave home, and now you n-need to leave too because of m-me…”

Aidan’s bottom lip was starting to tremble again, so Dean was quick to kiss him and shake his head with a smile.

“You’re being silly. We’re not moving because of you, we’re moving because we both _want_ to. I want to move, I want to live in London and you know that very well, idiot. I don’t want you to feel guilty about me having to leave my home, so please don’t feel guilty, please? We agreed to come back every few years and I’m happy with that. I really am, so please don’t be sad, okay?”

After a few seconds in which Aidan sadly stared in front of him, he finally nodded and looked back into Dean’s eyes.

“I’m sor–”

“No, you’re not. You’re happy and so am I. _I’m_ sorry for being so antisocial and grumpy. Let’s watch another movie, okay?”

Aidan smiled and accepted the iPad that Dean took out of their hand-baggage. He allowed the Kiwi to rub the remaining tears away from his cheeks and enjoyed the warmth spreading inside his chest when Dean cuddled against his side, just like he had done when they were watching the Lion King. He chose a movie of which he was sure that Dean liked it, Troy, and played it when they both had their earphones in. He chuckled when the Kiwi yawned loudly.

“You mind if I catch some more z’s?” Dean asked, stifling another yawn and leaning heavily against Aidan’s shoulder.

Aidan just kissed him softly on his head and worked his arm around Dean’s neck, gently rubbing the older man’s shoulder until was asleep again.

Aidan smiled throughout the whole movie, and he wasn’t quite sure what he was enjoying more; Brad Pitt’s mouth-watering body, or the adorable sounds that Dean made in his dreams. But maybe, Aidan thought as he looked down at his sleeping lover and grinned, the butterflies fluttering in his stomach, maybe he couldn’t have been more sure of anything in his entire life.

 

_“We’re preparing for landing, please fasten your seatbelts.”_

“Oh fuck, we’re going to die.”

Dean struggled to fasten his belt with his shaking hands, so after the fourth failed try, Aidan slapped his hands away and secured it for him.

“Relax, what the hell is wrong with you?” Aidan asked, taking Dean’s hands into his own and squeezing gently. It seemed to help a bit with the shaking, but he was still concerned about lover’s face, which was ghostly white.

“Just a bit n-nervous, that’s all…” Dean stuttered, looking down at his lap and biting his bottom lip. He yelped anxiously when the aircraft bounced and bounced, making Aidan’s empty cup rattle in its holder.

“I didn’t know you were that scared of flying, we’ve flown plenty of times before and nothing was wrong then? Is it because of the turbulence?”

They did have more turbulence during their flight from Los Angeles to London than he’d ever experienced before. It didn’t bother him so much, since he had flown plenty of times before and knew that a bit of turbulence wouldn’t bring an aircraft down.  Dean on the other hand looked as frightened as a mouse, and his smaller hands were still shaking in his grip.

“Aw babe, come here,” he said with an understanding smile, and at that Dean quickly grasped two handfuls of Aidan’s sweater and buried his face into the crook of his arm. The plane was still bouncing, and the captain explained through the mic that they were flying through some bad weather and that they didn’t have to worry. They had everything under control and would be landing soon.

“It’ll be over soon, you hear that babe? We’ll be landing in thirty minutes and then we’ll be safe. Think about Adam, he should be waiting for us at the airport this very moment. Isn’t that exciting?”

Dean groaned and whimpered when the aircraft shuddered through another wave of turbulence.

“I’m scared…” Dean squeaked, and knowing that no words could calm his stubborn lover down, Aidan just held him tight throughout the landing process. When after many long minutes the plane had finally hit the ground and was rolling towards their gate, Dean had practically worked himself inside of Aidan’s sweater. The Irishman playfully tugged at his blond curls and peeked at him under his shirt.

“Are you still there?” he asked with a grin, “we’ve landed. Weather is shit but that shouldn’t be a surprise.”

Dean worked his head out from underneath Aidan’s shirt and started stuffing the mess they’d made over the hours of flying back into his backpack. The colour had fortunately returned to his cheeks and he was smiling again, so Aidan pressed a kiss onto the Kiwi’s cheek and helped him clean up.

 

An hour later, Dean and Aidan were waiting for their bags to appear on the conveyor belt. When Aidan spotted the first trolley, he let out an excited yelp and ran towards it to pull it off and onto the ground. Three trolleys later, they were on their way to the arrival hall. Both men were strolling along the way slowly, exhausted from travelling and disorientated from the jet lag. It was just over three in the afternoon in London, but the two men were definitely still experiencing everything in a different time-zone themselves.

They were soon cheered up though when they spotted a big sign, held up high above the heads of all the people in the busy arrival hall.

*WELCOME HOME DRUNK VAMPIRE AND EXOTIC DWARF*

“I think we’ve found Adam,” Aidan laughed, and they started running towards the sign as fast as possible with a trolley in each hand.

Pushing a few tourists out of the way, they finally reached their friend. When Adam noticed the two of them, he laughed and shouted in excitement and hugged the two of them firmly, throwing the sign on the ground behind him without looking. When he reluctantly let them go after a long time, Aidan picked up the sign and held it before him for a better look.

“Welcome home, drunk vampire and exotic dwarf. Only you could have made that up, Ads.”

Adam laughed and took the sign back, rolling it up and putting hit under his armpit. He nervously shuffled on his feet before admitting, “It was Russell’s idea, actually.”

When Adam pulled at the collar of his shirt and showed a rather impressive love bite on his neck, Aidan’s mouth fell wide open. Dean kindly reached out his hand to close it again for him and smirked at Adam, who was blushing furiously.

“You’re fucking kidding me.”

Adam hid his face in his arms when Aidan walked up to him and lifted him up in a hug, “Man, it was about fucking _time_ the two of you got together! How long?”

“Almost a week now,” Adam said, also accepting another hug from Dean and slapping him when the Kiwi jokingly pinched his cheek.

“Well done mate, well done. Tell me all about it when I’ve actually got a functioning brain again. Let’s go to your car, I’m fucking exhausted…”

Adam laughed and offered to take over his trolleys, which Aidan gladly accepted. Good spirited, the three of them soon found their way out of the busy airport and into the parking garage. With lots of cursing and kicking, they managed to get all four trolleys into the trunk of Adam’s Volkswagen Beetle. And despite being thrilled at seeing Adam again and finally reaching London after so many hours of flying, as soon as Dean and Aidan were settled in the back seat of the car they immediately fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who else thinks Adam Brown and Russell Tovey would make a cute couple?
> 
> Can't just be me, right? <3


	18. We're not drunk, we're fabulous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys arrive in London and reunite with Adam. Dean meets Russell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back guys, and guess what?? Just in time with another chappy in 2014!! (well not for everyone, but I tried you know...)
> 
> I wish you all a very happy and healthy 2015! <3
> 
> Eá
> 
>  
> 
> **(beta-read by the wonderful Finduilas88, as always, because I can't spell and shit! <3)**

__

 

 _“Boys,”_ Adam whispered when he’d parked his car in front of his house. All throughout the ride from the London Airport to his little rental-house in a quiet suburb, Dean and Aidan had been fast asleep in the backseat, so Adam could only imagine how grumpy they would be for the next few days they’d be staying here to rest before he would help them move into their new home.

“Hey, _psst!_ ” he tried again, leaning over his seat to poke both Dean and Aidan’s cheeks. Still no reaction, so Adam saw no other choice than to go for the cruel option.

Turning the volume of the radio as high as it could go; he turned the device on and quickly covered his ears. Blasting out of the speakers came the loudest of loud music; the heavy bass making the vehicle rattle and shake. Adam laughed his arse off when the two boys in the back screamed in terror as they were cruelly woken from their sleep.

 _“WHAT THE FUCK?”_ Aidan exclaimed, covering his ears from the loud music and cringing into a tiny ball. Dean just opened the car door as fast as he could and sprinted out of the vehicle.

When Aidan saw Adam sniggering in the front seat, he slapped him multiple times until the Brit had also escaped the vehicle. More grumpy than any words could possible describe, Aidan leaned over to turn off the stereo and ran after Adam as fast as he could.

Once outside of the car, Dean was already yelling at Adam, complaining about heart-attacks and grey hairs. Seeing their friend laughing hysterically, Aidan soon laughed along, though his heart was still beating rapidly.

“Good job, Ads. I really didn’t think anyone or anything could ever get Dean grumpier than he already was,” he smirked, following his friend into his house when Adam had opened the door.

Dean just muttered as he followed the two and closed the door behind them. Adam took both their coats and pushed their trolleys into the living room, saying he’d deal with them later that day.

“But you,” he poked each man in their chest, “really need to catch up on some sleep if you can’t even appreciate my wonderful sense of humour anymore. Up, up! I already made your bed, first door on your right.”

He gave them a little push and watched them working their way up the stairs. Laughing in amusement and maybe a little bit of empathy, he went his own way towards his kitchen to brew himself a cup of tea.

 

“I’m dying,” Aidan groaned miserably as Dean helped him pull his socks of.

Dean threw them on the pile of clothes they’d made on the floor and held up his hands, waiting for Aidan to help him getting his shirt off. Aidan groaned and reluctantly helped him before crawling under the covers as deeply as he could. It was so cold in London compared to New Zealand—a mere five degrees Celsius—and he was shivering because of it. He moaned happily when after a few minutes Dean joined him under the covers and worked his body around him, warming him up in a very pleasant way.

“Sweet dreams, babe,” the Kiwi whispered sleepily. Aidan just nodded, and he was too far gone already to acknowledge the soft peck Dean placed in his neck before the Kiwi dozed off as well.

 

 

“Oh my God! Are you two still in bed?”

Aidan groaned and cursed when Adam pulled the curtains open, flooding the room with sunlight and burning the boys’ eyes through their closed eyelids.

“No…” Dean just murmured, pulling the sheets over his head and turning around in bed.

“You’re kidding, right? You’ve been in bed since five in the afternoon _yesterday_. You’ve missed dinner _and_ breakfast! Out! Get out, right now!”

He started pulling at a foot that peeked out from underneath the pile of blankets. It turned out to be Aidan’s, since the younger man started to laugh and held onto the headboard for dear life. Adam was not amused, though, and pulled harder.

“You let go of that right now or I swear to God I’ll tickle your foot until you have no other choice!”

Seeing Adam wriggling his fingers dangerously above his bare foot, Aidan quickly complied and rolled himself out of bed. With a heavy thump he landed on the floor, groaning in pain when he hit something on his way down. Judging by a similar sound coming from the other side of the bed, Dean had done exactly the same.

“I’m giving you thirty minutes to be downstairs for lunch. Thirty minutes and not a second more, you lazy bastards!”

The door was slammed shut, and after a few seconds during which they listened to the sound of Adam storming down the stairs, Dean and Aidan burst out laughing. Aidan coughed multiple times while laughing and groaned.

“I think I broke my shoulder,” he whined, and he grimaced when Dean pulled him up from the floor by his sore arm. “What time is it anyway?”

Dean held up his left wrist and realised only after staring at his arm for five seconds that he wasn’t wearing a watch.

“I think my jetlag’s killed a few brain cells…” he mumbled in confusion, frowning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes before he began searching for his phone.

“Only a few?” Aidan teased, tossing the device in Dean’s direction when he found it on the window-sill.

“Very funny. Jesus Christ it’s past eleven already, no wonder Ads’ pissed. That guy is a fucking hobbit with his ridiculous time schedules. Do you remember how he always had tea at precisely ten o’clock on set every morning? Mental, absolutely mental…”

Aidan just laughed and wrapped an arm tightly around the older man’s shoulders. Dean continued muttering as Aidan shut the door behind them and went to freshen up in Adam’s bathroom.

 

“You know, Russell’s coming over for dinner tonight. Said he wanted to meet Dean and see his old friend again.”

“I’m not that old…” Aidan mumbled with his mouth full, at which Adam pulled a disgusted face but wisely held his tongue. He knew after two years that he’d never be able to win a fight with Aidan, either verbally or physically.

“Not as old as Dean, fortunately,” Aidan continued, “He’s turning forty in three years, can you believe that? In three years!”

Dean pulled a face at the mention of his age and groaned, “Could you not remind me?”

Aidan laughed at him, the chewed up remains of his sandwich very visible behind his white teeth and again Adam wrinkled his nose in disgust at the picture. Aidan didn’t seem to care though and turned to the Brit with a wide grin.

“Hold on a sec, you haven’t told us anything about you and Russell yet. Go on then, talk us through the juicy details!”

Adam slapped his arm playfully and blushed a bit, “Oh well, it was just, you know… We’d been hanging out ever since you introduced us to each other at that…well I wouldn’t exactly call it a party. It was more of an orgy…”

Aidan was confused for a bit before realising what party his friend was referring to. He burst out laughing at the memory, “Oh God! Hahaha yes! The New Year’s party at Lenora’s that completely escalated! Orlando couldn’t keep his hands off her tits and you were jerking Luke off in the back yard!”

 _“I was not!”_ Adam shrieked horrified, blushing furiously at the mere thought of doing something like that.

“Oh yes, you totally were! You just can’t remember it because everyone was so fucking drunk!”

Aidan roared with laughter at the memory, and Dean just chuckled along, trying hard not to picture his young and innocent looking friend giving Luke a helping hand. Aidan had given him a few details about the party through Skype back then, but he’d never mentioned any of this. Not for as far as he remembered, at least.

“And you weren’t drunk, you’re saying?” Dean asked Aidan with a smirk.

“Of course not! I’m Irish, love. You’d need more than a few pints of beer to bring an Irishman down.”

He fisted his chest proudly and laughed. Though when he saw Adam’s terrified, self-conscious look, he took pity on his friend and playfully punched his shoulder.

“Aw, I’m just kidding with you, mate. You didn’t jerk him off, but the two of you did share a spectacular make out session in front of us. We should throw another party like that, right Dean? Maybe we could do a housewarming or something like that?”

Dean’s eyes widened at the suggestion, and he waved his hands to emphasize just how much he disagreed with the idea, “No way. No–fucking–way. I’m not letting them tear down our house just after we’ve finally moved in. Forget it Aidan, not going to happen.”

Aidan whined and threw his puppy eyes at his lover, knowing that might make him change his mind, “Aw, come on Dean, please? It’d be so much fun! Besides, we haven’t seen our brothers in ages. I’d be such a nice opportunity to see each other again…”

Dean sighed and stared at the table for a few seconds as he contemplated the idea. Meanwhile, both Adam and Aidan were looking at him through big eyes, their lips curled into a pout and their fingers crossed underneath the table.

“You know what, I’ll think about it,” he finally said, “I’ll think about it and that’s it for now.”

Both Aidan and Adam groaned and reluctantly left the topic. Aidan knew that Dean wasn’t going to agree to it, but he just happened to know a few sneaky tricks that could get his lover to agree with him anyway, and he wasn’t afraid to put them to use to get what he wanted. Things that consisted of sweet-talk and…sex. And begging of course, lots of begging.

Aidan took another big bite out of his sandwich and chewed contently, a few crumbs escaping the corner of his mouth when he coughed. His throat had been irritated all morning, and that was now really starting to irritate him. It was ridiculously cold in England for the time of year, and he didn’t even want to think about how cold it was going to be in Ireland, where they had agreed to spend Christmas together. He silently prayed he wouldn’t catch the flu; he knew he wasn’t going to survive it if he also had to deal with a jet lag and his grumpy ass boyfriend.

“Could you please, for _fucks_ sake, eat with your mouth closed?” Adam finally snapped after he coughed again and spread more crumbs around the table, “I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of the word _manners_ before?”

“Oh Aidan doesn’t have manners, he’s the kind of guy that farts in bed and leaves his dirty underwear in a corner.”

Dean laughed when Aidan gasped insulted, and he threw an angry look at the Kiwi that didn’t look nearly as intimidating as it would have without the enormous bags underneath his eyes.

 “ _I do not!_ I do not and you know that I don’t, you fucking liar!”

“Oh yes you do. My God your farts could bring down an entire army. It’s fucking toxic, what the hell do you eat when I’m not home?”

Adam just buried his face in his folded arms and groaned, _“How did this conversation go from Russell to farts?”_

“You’re making me sound like a pig! It’s not as if you’re mister fucking perfect yourself!”

Aidan was starting to get really angry now, the irritation burning behind his chest; the jet lag, throat-ache and most of all Dean’s insufferable mood was finally breaking through his patience. The smirk that had been on Dean’s face quickly disappeared when the Irishman pushed his plate away with a loud rattle.

“If you think that I’m disgusting and annoying and what else? Oh yes, fucking _worthless_ then why the hell are you still dating me, hmm?”

Dean opened his mouth but quickly shut it again, a bit taken aback by the sudden change of atmosphere in the room.

“Aid, come on I was just joking…”

“Behind every joke is underlying truth, isn’t that what you always say?”

The two men continued to bicker until Adam stood up from his chair and let his fist land loudly on top of the wooden dining-table.

 _“ENOUGH!”_ he shouted, immediately breaking up the fight between the two men, who were now staring at him through wide eyes. He sighed and spoke softly, almost pleadingly, “I understand jet lag isn’t fun and that you probably hate each other after so many hours of flying together but please, can’t you just at least pretend you’re happy to see me again? Happy that you’re staying here for a few days?”

Guilt washed over the two men at seeing their friend look so sad, and Aidan stood up from his chair with an apologetic look in his eyes and wrapped his arms tightly around the Brit, pressing a big wet kiss on his cheek which had Adam shrieking with disgust.

“ _Eww!_ Eww, okay, okay you’re forgiven! Let me go!” he laughed when Dean joined in at his other cheek.

The three then stood up from the table and made to clean up the mess they’d made. There was still some tension between the two men, Adam could sense, but he knew the exact thing to help that. All he required was Russell, a very bad low-budget comedy and most of all, lots, and he really meant _lots_ of alcohol. Time to pay a visit to the liquor store…

 

When Adam left to buy groceries, Dean and Aidan made themselves at home on their friend’s couch. After a few seconds of sitting next to each other in uncomfortable silence, Dean finally turned to his lover and carefully held out his arm. Aidan sighed deeply before giving in and cuddling against Dean’s side, letting the older man rub gentle circles on his shoulder.

Aidan wanted to be angry, he really did, but he just couldn’t. He was too tired and the throbbing pain in his throat seemed to increase with every second. He swallowed painfully and whimpered softly. Dean turned to him and studied him with a frown, pressing the back of his hand against the younger man’s forehead before pressing a soft kiss in his curls.

“You’re warm, babe,” he pointed out softly, and he moved his hand from Aidan’s brow to the back of his head, trailing his fingers through his messy curls and gently massaging his scalp.

“You don’t feel well, do you?”

Aidan shook his head, closing his eyes and leaning against Dean’s shoulder heavily.

“Just a bit of a cold, pretty sure it’ll be gone by tomorrow…”

“Want me to ask Adam to have Russell come over another night? I’m not sure if booze is going to do you any good if you’re sick.”

Aidan looked up at his lover and grinned, “If you want us to fight, you should definitely tell me I can’t have any alcohol tonight. I’ll fucking murder you if you do.”

Dean laughed and ruffled the younger man’s hair, “Alright then, drink whatever you want if you must, but if you end up catching the flu then you can take care of your own sorry ass.”

Aidan just huffed in reply and buried his face in Dean’s hoodie. Dean sighed and carefully worked his fingers through Aidan’s messy hair again, untangling a few strands and just playing with his dark curls.

“Maybe you should take a nap,” he suggested when he eyed his lover’s tired expression. The dark circles under his eyes were very prominent and his brow carried a permanent frown.

Dean chuckled when Aidan yawned loudly, and he wrapped his arms around the Irishman’s shoulders, pulling him against his chest so that he could rest his head against the armrest of the couch. It only just fit, but it was comfortable.

“Just go to sleep,” Dean whispered after pressing a soft kiss on his lover’s cheek, “you’ll feel better afterwards.”

Aidan just mumbled an inaudible reply before slowly dozing off, all warm and comfortable in his lover’s embrace.

 

_Aidan sat on the very edge of the cliff. He let his hands run over the rough surface, and his feet were dangling underneath him as he stared at a few white clouds sailing through the blue sky._

_Their shapes reminded him of the old days, of sheep and friends. Laughter and tears. They reminded him of home._

_He looked around him and nodded. This was home, his home. His heart swelled at the sight._

_He recognised this place. He’d only been here once in his life, when he had still been a boy, but the experience had made such an impact on him that he would always remember exactly what it had looked like._

_The Cliffs of Moher._

_He looked down past his dangling feet into the dark blue of the Atlantic Ocean. The white foam of the waves collided against the rocks, making a sizzling sound before slowly disappearing again. He could watch that for hours. He had watched it for hours…_

_He then looked at the grass surrounding him. The grass was so pure and green despite the biting cold, and it released the most delicious scent. The howled in the background, but it sounding like a beautiful song._

_Ireland. The country that his heart belonged to. The island of green, of beauty and of luck._

_“It’s so beautiful…” a voice on his right spoke softly._

_Aidan turned his head to stare into a pair of the most beautiful eyes. Baby blue as the Irish sky but much, so much more beautiful. He drowned in those eyes, leaning a bit closer to inspect them more properly. He recognised those eyes, they looked so familiar…_

_“You’re beautiful,” Aidan spoke to him as he gently pressed his lips against the other’s._

_Warmth spread in his chest as they kissed, and as soon as his tongue made contact with the other’s, he knew that it was not Ireland that he belonged. It was not Ireland that was his home._

_It was him. His lips. His eyes. His warmth and his smile._

_When they finally broke their kiss_ — _it felt like it had lasted an eternity_ — _they let themselves fall backwards into the grass._

_Their fingers intertwined, the warmth of their bodies meeting, fingertips kissing. He turned his head to the right and smiled. He was right. Of course he had been right._

_“You’re beautiful, so very beautiful…” Dean whispered, dimples decorating his cheeks as he grinned shyly._

_Home… this was home…_

_“I love you,” Aidan said, closing his eyes as the sun appeared from behind a cloud and warmed their cold cheeks, “I love you so much, Deano…”_

_Finally home…_

_“I love you too…”_

Aidan was startled awake by the slamming of the front door, indicating Adam’s return. He slowly opened his eyes, still feeling the pleasant tingling in his chest from his dream. He wondered how long he had slept as he stretched his arms and back. When he was awake enough to realise that he was still lying close to Dean’s chest with his lover’s arms still wrapped tightly around his shoulders, the warmth in his heart increased to the point where he was sure that Dean could feel it too. He smiled when he indeed saw Dean’s worried expression peering down at him, and he allowed the older man to feel his brow and check him over.

“Are you feeling a bit better? How’s your throat? Do you want tea? Should I get you a blanket?”

Aidan just nodded as he sat up a bit straighter and watched how Dean ran off towards where Adam was in the kitchen.

He touched his lips where he’d felt Dean’s in his dream. It had felt so real… Maybe this dream actually meant something, maybe it didn’t. But for some reason, he believed it. He believed that this was what awaited them here in London; this was the life that awaited them. Love, peace, and comfort. He felt it in his heart, the warmth he had felt there in his dream still lingered. He smiled to himself as the memories of the dream slowly started to fade from his mind until he could only remember those beautiful words, sweet as sugar as they fell from Dean’s lips.

_“I love you too…”_

Aidan shook his head and grinned as he finally stood up from the couch and went after Dean.

 

“So tell me, Dean, what’s it like being from New Zealand?”

Dean smiled and quickly swallowed his mouthful of beer. They were all sitting in Adam’s living room drinking beers, or in Adam and Aidan’s case something a bit stronger than that, and having fun while the TV played some lousy comedy on the background. Adam and Aidan roared with laughter at every joke, and they laughed even louder when the joke was particularly bad. Russell had tired of their childish behaviour soon enough and had taken his refuge with Dean.

Dean liked Russell. He was goofy, funny and outright crazy when he wanted to be, but he also had a soft side. He was kind, caring and smart. Much smarter than Dean, who had already lost count of how many beers he’d had tonight.

“Great, actually. New Zealand’s beautiful, the people are fantastic. I’ve lived in the States for a few years though and since the Hobbit I’ve been all over the world, but no place is as beautiful as New Zealand.”

Russell nodded and emptied his bottle of beer before throwing it unceremoniously towards the coffee table, wincing when he missed and it shattered on Adam’s stone living-room floor.

 _“STRIKE!”_ Aidan roared loudly, and apparently the breaking of glass was a good reason for him to tackle Adam to the floor. The two rolled around the floor in laughter, fighting and wrestling until after a few minutes Aidan had him pinned down by his wrists.

“I win! Go on buddy, y’know what you gotta do…”

Adam groaned as the Irishman filled a shot glass with liquor and handed it to his friend, and Adam squeezed his eyes shut as he downed it. Aidan cheered and patted his friend heavily on his shoulder while Adam coughed and gagged at the burning in his throat.

“Is he always like that when he’s drunk?” Russell asked Dean amused as they watched the two.

“Worse, usually. Normally I wouldn’t let him get nearly this drunk, but he’s had a rough few months so I let him. Plus I love seeing him like this. So happy and carefree.”

He smiled when Aidan flopped down next to him on the couch; resting his feet on the coffee table and throwing his head back heavily against the backrest.

“D’you just say I was drunk?” he slurred, eyeing Dean suspiciously.

Aidan groaned loudly when Adam suddenly jumped on top of his lap, crawling over Dean’s until he finally reached Russell, where he made himself comfortable.

“We’re not drunk, we’re fabulous,” Adam pointed out before releasing an enormous belch, resulting into another laughing fit that would have had him and Aidan rolling off the couch it weren’t for their boyfriends holding them up.

“Maybe we should call it a night,” Dean suggested as he studied Aidan’s face, which was starting to turn a nasty shade of green despite his laughter.

“I agree,” Russell chuckled as he worked Adam’s arm around his shoulder to pull him up from the couch.

“I can walk,” Aidan said stubbornly when Dean stood from the couch and held out his hand for him to take. He worked himself up from the couch and took a few steps towards the stairs when suddenly the world spun dangerously around him. Dean was quick enough to catch his shoulders before he tumbled to the ground.

“Careful, I told you you’re drunk. Come on, just lean on my shoulder and I’ll get you upstairs,” Dean said, and this time the younger man didn’t fight and let himself be carried upstairs into their spare-room.

 

It had taken him a while, but Dean had finally managed to get Aidan into bed and was now curled around him with his head resting on his chest, their usual sleeping-position. It was silent for a long time, and Dean was almost certain his lover was already fast asleep. So he sighed as he buried his nose in Aidan’s pleasantly hairy chest, inhaling the scent of his lover that always comforted him so much. He closed his eyes and cleared his mind, letting himself be lulled to sleep by the gentle rising and falling of his lover’s chest.

He was almost asleep when Aidan groaned and shifted. Dean opened his eyes again and stared at his lover questioningly.

“What?” he asked when the Irishman failed to say anything.

“I’m horny,” Aidan simply said, shifting so that he could nuzzle in Dean’s neck, biting and kissing at the sensitive skin.

“Aidan…” Dean whispered, cursing when he felt his cock stirring at the feeling of Aidan’s lips on his collarbone, “you can’t be serious, we’re at Adam’s. He’ll fucking _kill_ us if he finds out!”

He gasped when he felt Aidan’s tongue teasing at one of his nipples, kissing and licking the little bud of skin, and he couldn’t help it when his cock hardened bit by bit as his lover continued to worship his body.

“Who says he will?” Aidan grinned, kissing and licking down Dean’s abdomen. He dipped his tongue in Dean’s bellybutton, and he nipped at the ticklish skin until he reached the waistline of his lover’s boxers.

“Aidan…” Dean groaned, the booze in his system and the sensation of his lover’s lips on his skin making him feel impossibly aroused, “we can’t do this right now…”

“You’re aching,” Aidan pointed out, grinning as he licked at the pearl of pre-cum decorating the tip of his swollen cock, “you don’t want me to stop.”

Dean hissed when Aidan continued to lick and suckle the head of his cock, groaning and squirming as sparks of pleasure shot through his whole body.

“Hmm…” Aidan teased, looking up and grinning at Dean’s flushed cheeks, “you’re so gorgeous like this, Dean. I could fucking eat you. As a matter of fact, I will.”

He licked his lips before taking in as much of Dean as he could, bobbing his head up and down his lover’s shaft and paying lots of attention to the sensitive head. He chuckled when his lover shifted and squirmed underneath him, trying desperate to remain silent so that they wouldn’t be caught.

“Hmm…” he hummed again, increasing his speed and using all the techniques he knew to turn his lover into a giant mess of pleasure.

Dean squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face into a pillow, groaning into the soft fabric as Aidan went down on him. He couldn’t believe his lover was doing this to him, teasing him with his talented tongue and forcing him to stay silent all throughout it.

“Aid, Aid…” he whispered desperately when he could feel the pulsing of his orgasm coming dangerously close, and he bit sharply at the pillow covering his face when finally the dam burst and he shuddered through his peak, moaning and panting into the pillow as his lover helped him through it.

Aidan smirked as he let his lover’s cock fall from his lips and quickly worked his fist around his own, bringing himself to a mind-blowing completion with only a few tugs of his hand. He then let himself fall back down on the mattress and buried his nose into Dean’s neck, who was still breathing heavily and was dumbly staring at the ceiling as if he’d just seen the Virgin Mary.

“That was fun, wasn’t it?” Aidan grinned, and he bit at the soft skin of his neck. Dean shook his head to force himself back to earth and stared down at Aidan, frowning at him but smirking nonetheless.

“You’re a fucking tease, you fucking idiot.”

“Hmm… I love you too babe.”

Dean smiled and worked his arms and a leg back around Aidan, resting his cheek on Aidan’s chest and dozing off almost immediately. He loved this idiot. And God knows he _is_ an idiot, but he just loved him so fucking much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love your comments and kudos. Suggestions and prompts are always welcome.
> 
> <3 <3 <3


	19. London

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean, Aidan, Russell and Adam visit London. What could possibly go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here's the proof. I'm still alive. I hope you guys will like this chapter! Beta read as always by **Finduilas88**!
> 
> Love,
> 
> Eá <3

 

“This hotel’s quite…interesting.”

Adam opened the door to the room they’d booked in the cheapest hotel that they could find in the center of London. All four men were rather broke, especially Dean and Aidan after spending most of their remaining savings on their move, so they decided they would risk booking a cheap hotel to save more money for the rest of their trip.

The floor squeaked with every step when Adam entered the room, and he carefully sniffed the air a few times before pulling a disgusted face.  

“Oh bloody God, it smells like cat piss in here...”

Aidan smirked and followed him inside, studying the room with a rather unimpressed frown. “You picked the hotel Ads, so it’s your fault if the place is shit.”

He smacked his friend jokingly on the shoulders and threw his weekend bag on top of his chosen bed, immediately cringing at the sound of snapping metal and creaking spirals as he did so.

“They’re fucking _spring mattresses_?” Dean groaned miserably as he followed the two men inside and very carefully sat down on the bed next to Aidan. “ _Please_ tell me they’re not spring _mattresses_ …”

Russell just shook his head in amusement at the boys’ complaining and turned towards the small window of their room, pulling away the stained white curtains very carefully in case they came loose.

“Well, the view’s actually not even that bad,” he pointed out as he studied the grey and cloudy September sky, “I mean, if you stand on tip toes and squeeze your eyes a little bit, you can _just_ make out the tip of the Big Ben…”

Adam pushed him away from the window and stood on the very tips of his toes, cursing his height as he stretched his legs, “You’re kidding me, _this_ is the view?! All I can see is bricks and hobos and, oh how absolutely _lovely_ , the tip of the Big fucking Ben!”

Adam sighed dramatically and turned away from the disappointing view to let himself fall backwards onto his chosen bed, the one closest to the bathroom door. Which was convenient, since they were in London for more purposes than just looking at old buildings and showing Dean and Aidan around.

“I need a drink, and I need one right now,” he grumbled as he searched his pockets for his wallet. “Where’s the closest pub?”

 

So that brought the group out of the old, smelly hotel-room and back onto the street, searching through the busy center for a nice pub. They soon found a cosy-looking place and ordered four pints of lager, which they downed with impressive speed.

“So, I’ve decided that we should go sightseeing like real tourists do,” Adam started, the foam of his lager decorating his upper lip. “I’ve written down some hotspots on this piece of paper here,” he waved the piece of paper around for the men to see, “and when we’re there I’ll tell you all some interesting facts about London that I think every Brit should know. So by the end of this trip, you two may officially call yourself British.”

With that statement made, he downed back what remained of his lager and forcefully put the glass back down onto the wooden table.

“So that basically means you’ll be boring us with trivia for the next two days?” Dean asked a bit concerned.

“You’re absolutely right!” Adam exclaimed excited. “We’re _experts_ on those kinds of things, right Russ? What better guides could there be to show you around London than two actual _Londoners_? I know everything there is to know. And that includes the best places to get absolutely wasted.”

That soon got Aidan’s attention, and he smiled widely at Adam. “So what are you waiting for? Show us around and let’s get fucking hammered!”

He quickly followed Adam out of the pub, leaving Dean and Russell to take care of the bill. The Brit quickly put some pounds down onto the table and gave Dean a knowing look.

“We might have to carry those two back to the hotel by the end of the day,” he grinned as he put on his leather coat.

“Well, Aidan can take care of his own sorry ass if he ends up puking all night long. I warned him before we left and I’m not going to warn him again.”

Russell laughed and pulled a friendly arm around Dean’s shoulders.

“The poor guy’s had a rough time, just let him have a bit of fun. I asked Adam to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid. Did they ever catch the guys who…well, you know?”

Dean sighed deeply as they closed the door of the pub behind them, and took a moment to watch with fondness how his lover and Adam danced around the streets a few yards in front of them. He buried his hands into the pockets of his jeans and shrugged.

“No, they didn’t. They said they’d call us if they got any news, but we haven’t heard from them in weeks. I’ve basically given up hope that we’ll ever hear anything about it again.”

Russell hummed sympathetically and put his hand down on the shorter man’s shoulder, squeezing gently. “Just forget about it for the coming days. Forget about why you decided to move in the first place, forget about all the shit that’s been eating your brains. Have fun, go get drunk. There’s plenty of stuff to do once we’re back home.”

Dean winced at the thought of all the boxes they would have to unpack, and all the shopping there was to do when they had to move into their new house. And then the horrible thought of all the damage their friends would do if they threw a housewarming party, something that Aidan and Adam had been begging him to do ever since the house was bought. That was absolutely not going to happen, he had promised himself. The memory of Jimmy and Graham and his precious wooden garden table still gave him unpleasant shivers. He shook his head at the image of Aidan and Adam’s sad, disappointed faces if he said no and laughed.

“Yeah, you’re right Russ. Let’s catch up with those monkeys and have a good time.”

 

It took them a few minutes of walking and a particularly stinky tube-ride to reach their first destination; Buckingham Palace. Aidan watched the many traditional guards with awe while Adam chatted enthusiastically about whatever came to mind; how it has an astonishing 775 rooms, that prince Charles was actually born inside the palace and that the proudly flying Royal Standard flag indicated that the Queen was currently present.

“Hey, what if one of those lads has an itchy nose?” Aidan asked absent-mindedly, at which Adam interrupted his speech and gave him an unimpressed frown. Aidan smirked as he pointed at the young men standing in a line behind the gates, straight faced and not moving a single muscle.

“You think they’d give it a scratch?”

Dean and Russell chuckled when Adam swatted Aidan’s arm to shut him up. “No, they wouldn’t. Shut up and let me talk.”

“I was only wondering…” the Irishman muttered. He followed the others as they took a walk around the large square to get a better look at the beautiful building. Dean was especially fascinated by the architecture, and Adam was very pleased to tell him all about it. Aidan and Russell stayed behind for their own safety—knowing very well that if they didn’t, Adam would never shut up talking to them about old buildings—and walked closer to the tall fence. They watched the guards and tried to catch a glimpse of someone entering or leaving the palace. They ended up waiting until the change of guard before heading back to the underground to visit the next spot.

 

“Do you see what I see?” Adam asked Aidan when they walked over the platforms of King’s Cross.

Aidan gave him a questioning look and studied the place, taking in the details until his eyes lingered at a certain spot. Half a cart seemed to be stuck midway through the wall, and above the strange scene hung a small sign that read–

“Platform 9 ¾!” Aidan gasped, followed by roaring laughter. “ _Dean_! Come over here!”

Aidan instantly de-aged twenty years when he ran towards the wall that supposedly separated the Muggle world from the Wizarding world. A few seconds later Dean was standing beside him, holding out his phone to snap a picture of Aidan pretending to run through the wall. He shook his head in amusement and secretly uploaded the picture to his Instagram account, knowing his followers would love it.

“Are you done now?” he laughed when Aidan refused to take his hands off the stone wall, which he stated contained his ‘entire childhood.’ He eventually ended up pulling him away from the spot by his arm to follow Adam and Russell over to other platforms that had been used to shoot the Harry Potter movies. It did help to shut up his lover for the hour they spent wandering around, not only because it was a beautiful railway station but also because it was pouring with rain outside.

Before they went to their final attraction of the day, where they would most likely be staying until dinner, Adam led him to a small bistro to have a bite of lunch. When all four men were served tomato soup and bread rolls, the conversation soon led to the inevitable.

“So, the housewarming party,” Adam started nonchalantly. Aidan looked up from his bowl of steaming soup excitedly and instantly threw his puppy eyes on Dean, who had put down his spoon in order to bury his hands in his hair.

“Come on Dean! You can’t just keep all the fun of moving to yourselves! That’s just rude,” Adam insisted, pointing at him with his spoon and spreading blobs of tomato soup all over the white tablecloth. “You can’t just keep your mates, who all love you _dearly_ , from warming up your new house for you!”

“It’s not the company I’m worried about,” Dean interrupted his friend, “It’s what happens when you pour too much vodka into Jimmy and Graham. And you know very well what happens when you pour too much vodka into Jimmy and Graham, Ads.”

Adam gasped dramatically, “Oh! You’re overreacting! Besides, you were pretty fucking pissed yourself!”

“They _burned_ my fucking garden table!” Dean exclaimed half-angry and half-amused. “How the hell do you burn a garden table?! _Ashes_ , Adam, ashes was all there was left of it. And it was a pretty fucking expensive table too…”

“How about we throw a housewarming without the barbeque and without the booze?” Aidan suggested carefully, but Adam instantly protested. Russell just leaned back in his chair and watched the show with growing amusement.

“You can’t just throw a proper housewarming party without the booze, Turner. But I agree with the barbeque. We should have known that Jimmy would try to turn the barbeque into a giant bonfire in his intoxicated state. Your precious wooden garden table just happened to stand right next to it.”

He patted Dean knowingly on the shoulder and went back to finishing his soup. It remained silent for a long time until Russell finally interrupted it.

“You know, I think that if Dean really doesn’t want to do a housewarming party, you could always just go with a nice dinner party instead.”

Aidan and Adam groaned loudly at that, but Dean gave Russell an appreciative smile.

“You know, I _really_ like your new boyfriend, Adam.”

Adam just growled at his partner and raised his hand to ask for the bill. He’d get Dean to agree on doing the party. He’d just have to come up with the best way to blackmail him into it.

 

“Your Majesty. Your Royal Highness, or whatever. I would be so _honoured_ if I could take a picture with you. Dean there will take it, that hot blonde at the back, my boyfriend. He’s got a _very_ expensive camera you see. Maybe it’s even more expensive than that ugly crown you’ve got on top of your head. Here, let me just wrap my arm around your…that’s it. Now smile!”

Aidan smiled his widest smile and held the wax figure of Queen Elizabeth firmly by its immobile shoulder while Dean shot his picture, laughing as he did so.

“Is that a real crown on her head?” Adam asked curiously as he stepped closer to the life-size doll. He studied the figure closely and walked around it, wrinkling his nose as he stepped back again. “Awfully creepy. Remember when we met Prince William for the Hobbit back in 2012? His nose was _much_ bigger in real than it is here on his wax figure…”

Aidan laughed and walked up to the doll of Prince William and instantly agreed. “But there is one more figure we must see before we go and have dinner. I think I know where they placed it, follow me.”

And so the three men followed Aidan through the museum, through many corridors and passing lots of terrifyingly realistic dolls until they finally reached the section he was looking for.

“Okay, he should be here somewhere. I think he might be…oh yes! There he is!”

Aidan ran through the crowd of people until he stood before one of the newest wax figures of Madame Tussauds’ collection. Benedict Cumberbatch himself. Adam ran close behind him and stood on his tiptoes to look over Aidan’s shoulder so that he could see the doll.

“Oh look at those cheekbones!” he whispered dreamily, “Do you think I’d finally be able to touch them? I’ve always wanted to, but it seemed a bit inappropriate…”

“I suppose now’s your chance, Ads,” Aidan chuckled and pushed his friend towards the immobile replica of Benedict as soon as the group of tourists that was keeping the figure occupied had finally left. By then, both Dean and Russell had caught up and as soon as they realised what Adam was up to, Dean grabbed his camera and Russell grabbed his phone.

“Go on then, kiss his cheek!” Aidan encouraged him. “Imagine it’s Russell, but with much more cheekbone!”

Russell snorted as he started to record the scene, and Dean snapped countless of pictures of Adam wrapped around the wax figure in all sorts of inappropriate poses. When after a moment they noticed a guard nearing closer and closer to the laughing men, Dean finally decided they should move on to another doll before the bloke could arrest Adam for sexually harassing a wax figure.

 

Dinnertime brought the group to a small and fairly crowded restaurant not far from Madame Tussauds, and they all ordered steaks with fries along with lagers. While they waited for their dinner to be served, they discussed where they would be spending the rest of their evening and night.

“I know a club not far from our hotel where they serve some pretty good cocktails,” Russell suggested as he picked at the tablecloth. “We could go there and spend the night getting drunk on expensive drinks.”

Adam grinned mischievously at the suggestion and instantly looked at Aidan, who only nodded with a smirk. God knows what they were silently discussing.

“So that I can spend all night cleaning up your puke from the already rotting hotel floor?” Dean teased, poking his boyfriend in the cheek.

“Deano, you sound like a forty-year old,” Adam pointed out, raising an eyebrow at him. Aidan burst out laughing at Dean’s sour face, which soon had them all laughing.

“What I mean is that you’re acting like a grumpy old man, Dean. I mean, you’re not forty _yet_ …”

Dean just stuck his tongue out and ran a hand through his hair to mess it up a bit more. At seeing that, Adam shouted excitedly.

“Exactly! Mess up that hair! Get your ass into those leather pants! You know what,” Adam leaned closer to wrap his arm around Dean’s shoulders and pull him closer, “You and I are going to get absolutely _hammered_ tonight. Wasted. Completely pissed! Let Aidan clean up your puke from the floors. Change the scene around! You deserve it, mate.”

He slapped his friend’s shoulder firmly before releasing him, smiling when Aidan gave him an appreciative thumbs-up. Dean was just about to open his mouth to talk himself out of it when the waiter set a big plate of steak in front of his hungry nose. He completely forgot about the discussion as he attacked his food.

 

Three hours later, Dean had his third cocktail of the night pushed into his hands with a wink from his British friend. He had just been telling Russell all about how good he would look if he grew out a moustache when they were interrupted by Adam pushing his boyfriend out of his chair and towards the dance floor, where Aidan was already dancing like a maniac and obviously having the time of his life

When Aidan noticed Russell, he immediately shouted for him to come over and pulled him further into the crowd of jumping teenagers by the sleeve of his shirt. Russell shot Dean one last panicked look that begged him to come rescue him before he completely disappeared from sight. The Kiwi smirked and turned to Adam.

“Cheers mate,” he said, and he raised his glass to clink it against Adam’s, instantly spilling almost half of the contents over the table. He then downed it all in one mouthful and thumped the glass loudly back onto the table. If the room was beginning to swirl around him then he pretended not to notice. Adam gave him a knowing look and punched him playfully against his shoulder, which almost had them both toppling off their bar stools.

“So, old man. Fancy a dance?” he teased, and he quickly jumped off his barstool before Dean could successfully push him off it. He held out his arm and gave Dean a stern stare, who sighed in defeat and wrapped his own arm around Adam’s.

“That’s a good boy, now let’s dance!” the Brit squeaked and he dragged Dean onto the dance floor, searching for the other two men.

After a long search they finally made out the bouncing of Aidan’s dark curls over the crowd of dancing people, and the closer they came to reaching their friends, the louder the music became. Dean soon got into to the loud thumping of music that was really only made to be _very_ loud and _very_ fast. And when he saw the bright smile on Aidan’s face when he noticed him, and the strong arms that wrapped around his waist and drew him closer, he forgot about all his worries and danced along on the steady thumping of the bass.

 

How they all managed to return to their hotel room in their intoxicated state is still a mystery, and it may or may not have involved a few random locals to help them find their way back in the first place. But by four in the morning, they had all crashed into bed. They all slept soundly; well, apart from Aidan whose snores could have woken up a Snorlax. But after five hours of an almost comatose state, Adam roused with a startle by an all too familiar sound. He grinned and stepped out of bed, careful not to take too heavy steps to wake the other two sleeping men with the squeaking floor. He gently opened the bathroom door and cheered at the sight.

“As bad as I feel for you, I must say I’m also very proud of you,” he teased at the sight of Dean hanging over the toilet, face ghostly white and a thin layer of sweat covering his brow. Adam laughed and crouched next to him, rubbing a gentle hand over his back until the older man flushed the toilet and buried his head into his hands.

“My head feels like it’s been split in half,” the Kiwi croaked, allowing the Brit to pull him into a hug and resting his thumping head heavily against the younger man’s shoulder.

“It’s called a hangover. The morning after. The painful evidence of a _fantastic_ night out with your mates!”

Adam sounded way too enthusiastic for his liking, so Dean pushed him away weakly in order to crawl back to his bed. Adam giggled with delighted as he heard the sound of snapping metal and a curse to Satan as Dean audibly threw himself back onto his bed. He was just about to go back to bed himself when a wave of nausea struck him out of nowhere and forced him to turn right back towards the toilet.

 

It took some heavy persuasion, but after a lot of shouting, pulling at arms and hair, Adam managed to get everyone out of bed in time to hear the Big Ben chiming at noon. Aidan was the hardest to get out of bed, since he had drunk the most the night before, but at the promise of McDonald’s for lunch if they managed to make it to the Big Ben in time; he quickly jumped out of bed and into his clothes. They made it to the old church just in time, and none of them were quite awake enough yet to bully Adam with his boring trivia talks about how many steps it was to reach the Big Ben bell and how many pennies were used to keep the clock ticking in the perfect time. 

So as soon as Adam was done talking, they headed towards the closest burger place to ease their hangovers with greasy food. They only had one stop left before they were going to head back home, and it just happened to be the perfect opportunity for Adam to try one last time to persuade Dean into having a housewarming party.

“So Dean, I’m giving you a final chance to change your mind,” Adam started as they stood in their capsule high up in the London Eye. Dean turned his eyes at his friend from where he’d been staring at the view and gave him a very suspicious frown.

“Either you promise me here and now that you will do the housewarming,” he started, winking at Aidan when the Irishman figured out what he was doing, “or we will push you out of this cabin. It’s a long way down, you know.”

As to prove his point, he looked out of the cabin and rubbed his chin, judging how long it would take a person to reach the ground. Aidan and Russell chuckled when Dean sighed heavily and buried his face in his hands. “You’re never going to leave me alone if I say no, are you?”

Nodding enthusiastically, Adam grinned cheekily and stood up straighter when Dean worked his hands through his hair to give the idea one final thought. Eventually he sighed and looked Aidan in the eyes, who was of course throwing his best puppy eyes at him.

“ _Fine_ , do whatever you want. I don’t care. But if they destroy the house,” he poked his lover firmly in the chest, “it will be entirely _your_ responsibility. And the money for a new garden table or whatever it is they will set on fire this time will come out of _your_ wallet.”

“You’re sounding like an old man again, Dean,” Adam teased, laughing at the Kiwi’s sour but affectionate look.

Aidan gave his lover a quick peck before ruffling his hair for him. “Come on, babe, it’ll be fun. Just a great night at our new house with all our mates. It’ll all be just fine.”

Adam cheered loudly, and the discussion was solved just in time before the cabin reached the ground again and they were ready to step out. When they were outside, he gave Russell an unexpected kiss and jumped in excitement.

“Dean finally said yes! We totally need to celebrate this! Russ, where’s the closest pub?”

Dean groaned as Aidan jumped up at the mention of a pub. Russell laughed understandingly and wrapped an arm around the shorter man’s shoulders as they followed their boyfriends, who were hopping towards the pub on the corner. As childish and foolish as they may look to passers-by, both their hearts were warm with affection as they watched their lovers dance around the streets. A look in each other’s eyes and a small nod said enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who's left comments, kudos and everyone else who's still reading! You are the best.


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